A defining trait of the Nuggets’ 2018-19 campaign was Denver’s fourth-quarter defense. The Nuggets were one of the better defensive teams in the league last season and fielded the NBA’s 10th-best defense overall, but their ability to clamp down over the final 12 minutes of games helped Denver grind out wins when its offense wasn’t operating at peak performance. Statistically,…...

“The List” is a brand new series that serves as a companion piece for the “Notebook” episodes of the Locked on Nuggets podcast and the DNVR Nuggets podcast. In this edition, I share some notes on what fueled the win over the Dallas Mavericks. 1. Jerami Grant had one of his best games in a Denver Nuggets uniform last night,…...

The Nuggets’ best moment of 2019 was four years in the making. Denver clinched its first playoff berth of the Michael Malone era in Denver’s coach’s fourth season on a Monday night in Boston late last year. A few weeks later the Nuggets won the Northwest Division for the first time since 2010. Nikola Jokic then scored 43 points in…...

Did anyone have flashbacks to last May and the Nuggets and Trail Blazers’ Western Conference semifinal matchup while watching the Pelicans bully the Nuggets on national TV in Denver’s first Christmas Day game since 2012? In that playoff series, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard poured in 26.4 and 25.1 points per piece across seven games. But it was what the…...

On a humid summer morning in Hyattsville, Maryland, Jerami Grant is back where it all began. Before capturing gold at the FIBA Americas in 2012, before providing a spark off the bench as a freshman for Syracuse on the way to the Final 4, and years before securing a three-year, $27 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder last…

Here’s a bit of insight into just how much Michael Malone and the Nuggets have relied on their starters this season. The Nuggets’ starting five — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap, and Nikola Jokic — is playing on average 20.9 minutes per game. That’s three minutes per game more than that lineup averaged last year and 3.8…...

The ball popped, the shots fell, and the Denver Nuggets rolled. At long last, we saw the Nuggets put on a performance that’s better suited for the offensive identity and acumen we’ve bestowed on this group. Denver rocked the Miami Heat, who had the best net rating in the NBA coming into the game, recording 35 assists in the 109-89…...

Nikola Jokic threw his hands up in disgust. In the moment, the Nuggets’ All-Star center’s frustration centered around one sequence — a game-sealing errant Jamal Murray bounce pass intendslowed for Jokic which ended up in the hands of Jahlil Okafor and turned into a Pelicans basket — but Jokic’s annoyance around the Nuggets’ play and particularly Denver’s offense had…...

Everyone take a deep breath. That’s what the Nuggets are saying to each other in the visiting locker room at The Amway Center right now after a narrow 91-87 win over the Orlando Magic. It was an ugly, frustrating, and puzzling night, but a win is a win. Still, the Nuggets have a long way to go. You get the…...

No one would take a mulligan on a 3-0 start, but those who watched the Nuggets closely through three games knew they had a loss coming. That materialized Tuesday night when the Nuggets let a game slip away from them, falling to the Dallas Mavericks 109-106 on their home court. The vaunted bench struggled mightily, and Denver’s starters showed a…...

In this episode, Adam Mares, Brendan Vogt and Harrison Wind of DNVR Nuggets are joined by Ryan Koenigsberg of DNVR Broncos to talk about the Nuggets’ opening night win over the Blazers. Analysis, conversation, and plenty of laughs as we recap and relive the first game of the season. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! iTunes link | Stitcher Link | Pocket…

Twenty-three years later in the same city where his father Harvey patrolled Portland’s paint in the mid-90’s, Jerami Grant began his Nuggets tenure with a bang. The Nuggets’ summer acquisition shined in Denver’s 108-100 opening night victory over his father’s former club. Grant posted a modest stat line — nine points and two rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench…...

For some, the summer went by in the blink of an eye. For others, this day could not have come soon enough. The NBA season is here, whether you're ready for it or not, and the DNVR Nuggets staff has put together a comprehensive preview to help you catch up on the most relevant narratives and pertinent questions surrounding your Denver Nuggets.

Adam Mares, Harrison Wind, Mike Olson, and Brendan Vogt offer their Nuggets predictions, league-wide predictions, and provide the most important question surrounding each player on the roster.

What teams present the most and least of a threat in a Western Conference playoff series? Will Denver reach the Finals or lose in the first round? Will the Nuggets take home any awards?

The 2019-20 DNVR Nuggets preview is here.

Adam Mares, Harrison Wind and Brendan Vogt preview the Nuggets season by first examining how Denver plans to use Michael Porter Jr. at the beginning of the year and what the rookie’s comments at practice Tuesday said about his state of mind entering the season. Also, the guys play what are the odds about miscellaneous Nuggets topics and give their…

When the already-exceptional Denver Nuggets finally bowed out of the 2018-19 season, they’d come closer to the Finals than they had in over a decade, in one of their most-successful seasons in history. Had they been able to score one more point in any of the first three of the four overtimes they spent against Portland in last years’ Game 3 playoff loss, they may have moved on to the Western Conference Finals, as they were tantalizingly close to their ultimate goal.

Though last season’s Nuggets took the floor with one of the league’s finest teams, they still saw a need to make improvements after coming up short. Denver made a list of their own that could help them make their next step forward:

Improved three-point defense
Improved overall defense
Improved rebounding
Improved scoring above the rim
Improved speed
Improved three-point shooting

As well as Denver performed in each of those categories last year, and as deep as they were, the playoffs exposed a need for even greater depth in each of those spots, with a successful seven-game series carrying them to a less-successful seven-game series. Had the Nuggets gotten to the Warriors, they’d have been running on fumes. Depth and consistency in the topics above could have shortened both of their playoff series, and given them a clearer run at a championship. Finding players who could give them that boost but not upset the already-stellar team dynamic was key. But surely filling out that steep and challenging list would take a few specific bodies to fulfill, right?

Right?

Well, not so fast.

There's only six days until opening night, and the Nuggets left their talented rookie out of what appeared to be their final dress rehearsal. Why? It has everything to do with one aspect of his game that's lacking.

Adam Mares and Brendan Vogt offer the hottest takes that they’re not even sure they believe about Michael Porter Jr., Jerami Grant and how Denver’s two newest additions have expanded the Nuggets’ title window. DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! iTunes link | Stitcher Link | Pocket Casts Link | Spotify Link

The first edition of our 2019-20 DNVR Nuggets player grades is here. After Denver narrowly escaped Phoenix with a 107-102 win over the Suns on Monday night, it’s time to hand out some report cards. HONOR ROLL Jerami Grant – A Grant was the best player on the floor Monday night, showcasing nearly all of his versatile skillset. Grant finished…...

No matter who was on the floor in the Nuggets’ preseason opener, you couldn’t take your eyes off Michael Porter Jr. Half of it was the storyline. Porter had of course missed his entire rookie season following two back surgeries that sent the once consensus top-2 recruit’s draft stock tumbling. But Porter also captures your eye for other reasons. He’s…...