Nuggets wrap up regular season with one big question to be answered

Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke sat with general manager Calvin Booth high above the court at Ball Arena watching the backups battle the fully engaged Sacramento Kings. The conversation between a Master of the Universe and his underling was likely similar to the chats happening amongst fans and those lucky enough to be able to watch on a portable device.

How much does anybody really trust this team?

When it comes to playing poorly at the end of the season, can they make like Charlie Puth and turn it on like a light switch for the playoffs?

“No,” said center/coach DeAndre Jordan when asked that exact question. “We’ve played great in spurts. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve wanted to get some guys some rest headed into the post-season. If we play like we did against Utah in the second quarter, if we play with that mindset we should be ok. I think this week will be really good for us.”

The Nuggets 109-95 win over the Sacramento Kings, gave a glimmer of hope that a beating heart exists.

“I didn’t want the stench of losing another game for a whole week,” said a relieved coach Michael Malone. “I just felt that everybody that played tonight (played well) (with) the energy, the effort, the defense, it feels really good to win it playing our brand of basketball.”

Malone was thrilled by the total defensive obliteration the Nuggets put on the Kings. After being down 17 at the end of the first, the Nuggets blitzed Sacramento by a staggering 83-52 margin which included 14-point third and fourth quarters.

“After the first quarter, they were 4-of-31 from three,” said Malone. “It’s gonna be a lot better preparing this week not only being number one in the west, but having the outright number one record in the Western Conference. We didn’t want to be sharing that with anybody. So getting that win today was good. What looked like was going to be an 80 point loss turned into a hell of a win for us.”

After playing his starters for a good chunk of time the day before in the Nuggets four-point loss to the Utah Jazz, coach Michael Malone called it a season for Nikola Jokic, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jeff Green, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray.

Initially, the atmosphere inside Ball Arena had about as much life as a box of peeps accidentally left out in the rain. If the message wasn’t clear enough about how little the Nuggets cared about the game, it was punctuated by Jack White taking the mic pre-game to thank the fans.

No, not Jack White of the White Stripes, Jack White of an Australian accent and firm permanent seat on the deep end of the Nuggets bench. The team couldn’t even select a player the fans had heard of to thank them for being loyal all year.

Who knew he would end up being the team’s internal defensive player of the game?

“I wanted to make sure Jack White got a chance to play tonight,” emphasized Malone pounding his finger on the table. “Jack’s been a great person to have around. He’s been back and forth between here and Grand Rapids. He deserved the opportunity to go out and do his job. I’m happy for those guys.”

In 15 minutes, White collected nine rebounds which caused Malone to compare him, jokingly, to Dennis Rodman.

“He’s the Aussie worm,” said Malone with a smile.

“Yea it was great,” responded Bruce Brown about the win. “What were we one and five in our last six? Ish (Smith) really got us going after the first quarter when he said ‘We aren’t here to lose so let’s play’ so we picked up our energy and got stops.”

Brown was wearing a pink and orange rugby shirt with a tan cowboy hat. He looked more like a guest host on Blues Clues than an NBA superstar but his demeanor after the game left no confusion as to where his head is at.

What are your expectations for the team now that the season is over?

“What do YOU think?”

I don’t know

“What do YOU think?” repeated Brown.

I’m not sure.

“I guess we’ll see,” said Brown with a sly smile.

Let’s face it. The Nuggets actually needed this win. There’s no doubt about it.

Here is the cold hard truth, going into the game the Nuggets were 11-11 after the All-Star Break. That includes big wins against Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Golden State. But it also included losses to San Antonio, Houston and Chicago. While the Warriors went 11-12 last year after the All-Star break and won the NBA Championship, it should be noted that they actually won their last five games in a row heading into the postseason. The Nuggets dropped their last three straight before the win on Sunday going 5-5 in their last ten. For a team that only lost 7 games at home all year, this latest stumble felt concerning.

As the Nuggets were outscored 43-26 in the first quarter, it was as if the Easter Bunny had hidden coal in all the rotten eggs.

But the Nuggets scraped back in the second quarter cutting the deficit to eight.

In the third, the Nuggets were able to take the lead with stellar play from Bruce Brown who was on his way to a 21-point afternoon. The plan was to only play Brown in the first half. Allowing him back into the game after halftime was a stretch. Playing almost 32 minutes in a variety of roles allowed Brown to finish off a fantastic year that will likely earn him a monster contract from somebody else next year.

“I’m a baller,” said Brown about his positionless existence.

Even Nuggets spokesman Jack White saw action in a close game. His put-back dunk was negated by the ball being in the cylinder, but so what?!? It’s Jack White, y’all!!! Defensively, White was sharper than Crocodile Dundee’s knife.

Suddenly the Nuggets were NOT turning the ball over. They were dominating on the boards. They finally were knocking down threes. They were showing a strong desire to battle. The same Kings who had destroyed the Nuggets in the first quarter could only muster a paltry 14 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Locked into the third seed in the west, the Kings finally put their starters on the bench. From that point on, the Nuggets completely dominated the Kings outscoring them 18-3 in the first seven minutes of the fourth on their way to an absolute demolition. Heck, even Thomas Bryant threw in a couple of threes.

Where was this effort in the past handful of games?

Maybe it matters and maybe it doesn’t. The Nuggets won’t start their playoff series until next Sunday. Between now and then they will rest, compete amongst themselves and prepare for the onslaught headed their way.

While it may be too harsh to say the Nuggets backed into the number one seed in the Western Conference, it’s more than fair to have trepidation. Only a complete sycophant would have blind faith in this team. That’s why something positive near the end of the season seems to be meaningful.

There seems to be significant rust with the starters. The definitive second unit appears to be up in the air and the Bones Hyland for Thomas Bryant and Reggie Jackson deal did nothing to improve the team. With all that being said, perhaps there is more heart to this team than we may expect.

While the future of Michael Malone may be in jeopardy if there isn’t high-level playoff success, on Sunday afternoon, he got his team to show passion where there seemed to be teetering doubt.

It was a tale of two halves which must have created quite the mixed bag of conversation in the occupied owner’s box.

But, it’s finally time for the talk to stop. The best Nuggets team ever now has to walk the walk.
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