Nuggets fans need to stop worrying about the national media

May 22, 2023, 6:26 AM | Updated: 3:53 pm

Denver Sports Analyst

The Denver Broncos need to follow in the footsteps of the Denver Nuggets. While the Broncos are in the bottom half of the league, the Nuggets may be the best team in all of the NBA. The Broncos used to have a standard of making the playoffs and making a championship run, and now that belongs to the Nuggets who have been in a championship window since at least the bubble of 2020.

I like watching the Nuggets make history. We’ll see if they can close things out Monday night against the Lakers and go to someplace they’ve never been before – the NBA Finals.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep Wrangler TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Win With Class

I’m sick of the national pundits not paying enough respect to the Nuggets. It doesn’t matter if you turn on ESPN or FS1, you’re not going to see much coverage about how great the Nuggets are as a team. Instead, you’ll hear more about why LeBron James and the Lakers are choking rather than the fact they are facing a far superior team. Instead of learning more about the Nuggets, the national sports stations would rather focus on the shortcomings of Los Angeles.

I’m also sick of the way some Nuggets fans behave because of this imbalanced coverage. It seems like there are some in this ever-expanding fan base that focus more on the negative coverage – or lack of coverage – rather than simply enjoying the best basketball team we’ve ever seen in the Mile High City. You’ll see Nuggets fans getting in “Twitter fights” with Lakers fans, or the teams from the Eastern Conference, and I simply have one piece of advice; don’t worry about it.

The coverage is going to be disrespectful compared to what other teams would be getting. Imagine if the tables were turned and the Lakers were up 3-0. You’d be hearing about James being the GOAT (when everyone knows it will forever be Michael Jordan). Nikola Jokic is the brightest star in Nuggets history, and with his consistent play he’s going to go down as one of the best big men of all time.

That’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. Instead, just enjoy the victories that much more. It seems like the refs and the TV coverage wants the storylines the Lakers and James would bring to the NBA Finals. Well, the Nuggets are a motivated and well-coached team with a player who is historically doing things we’ve never seen before. Enjoy the sweet tears from other fans, but don’t get into fights with them online. Just let them “take the L on the way out.”

The Nuggets TOOK OVER in the closing stages of Game 3 😤 pic.twitter.com/IrXLyazw4T

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 21, 2023

It seems like everyone outside of the Mile High City are rooting against the Nuggets. To that I say, “good!” To hell with whatever talking heads or fans of other teams think. Win with class, and go win it all if you can. Talk is cheap, but championships last forever. Go win it all, and it will make these guys shut the heck up.

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MVP-Like

The Nuggets are fortunate to have Jokic on their team. The two-time NBA MVP should have won it for a third time in a row this year, but it was Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid who won instead. It was highway robbery as Jokic is clearly the best player in the NBA, but there’s one MVP trophy he can get that’s even better – The Finals MVP.

In addition to Jokic being flat-out awesome, I have always felt Jamal Murray could play at an MVP-like level. We’ve seen flashes to be sure, and everyone remembers how Murray went off during the 2020 bubble. Murray is the type of player that can strike fear in his opponent. He plays with a tremendous chip on his shoulder, and he’s certainly heard the naysayers about his team for years and years.

I think Murray could be an NBA MVP. Now, I fully admit that’s unlikely to happen but I have always admired his talent and ability to take over in a basketball game. Murray can be cold at times, but even when he starts out cold things can turn around quickly with the type of attacking style that he has. So long as Murray is on the attack, his shot will come, and those points will start piling up.

Jamal Murray’s 53 points over the last three quarters is the most points over a three-quarter stretch since the 1998 Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Sgbz9hi3vq

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 21, 2023

Murray’s play will determine how far the Nuggets go. There is so much excitement about what he can do on the basketball court, and Murray has the type of energy that reminds me of players from older generations when the NBA was much more physical. Murray can use that chip on his shoulder to get a ‘ship for the Nuggets.

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We Lost a Legend

Last week, the NFL world lost one of its biggest stars when Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown passed away. There are many fans and media alike who feel that Brown was the best running back to play in the NFL. There are still others who argue that Brown may be the best football player – at any position – to ever play at the highest level. No matter where you come down on Brown’s Hall of Fame career, everyone knows we lost a legend last week.

Brown did things on the football field that can’t really be duplicated. His power and speed as a runner was incredible, and that’s why he was able to post huge numbers in each season of his pro career. A first-round pick in the 1957 NFL draft, Brown played nine pro seasons and led the league in rushing eight times. That’s ridiculous just to type let alone contemplate in this incredibly physical game. It’s even more outstanding when you consider how the rules were much different, and physicality was at a more brutal level when Brown was playing.

He was a Pro Bowl selection every year of his career, and he led the Cleveland Browns to three league titles – winning MVP three times due to his performances. In half of his games, Brown rushed for over 100 yards. He never missed a game, and only walked away from the game early to pursue an acting career. There’s no telling what the record book would look like if Brown would have stayed in the NFL.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is saddened to share the news that the Class of 1971’s Jim Brown has passed away at age 87. #HOFForever

More Info: https://t.co/njbOeWAnbd pic.twitter.com/ApxsWl2fjH

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) May 19, 2023

We’ll never see someone have a near decade of dominance at the running back position in the way that Brown did. Even though it’s before my time, watching highlights of Brown can make football fans of all ages excited but the combination of speed and power he brought to the field when he was running the ball.

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Deadpool is Coming

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not what it used to be. Many are calling the lack of interest in the MCU a product of “superhero fatigue” and that may be true. There are now dozens of Marvel movies about superheroes, and some people may have fallen out of love with the genre from the days of “Avengers: Endgame” which became the most successful movie of all time.

To me, I think the movies just aren’t as captivating as they used to be. Now, I am a lifelong comic book fan so I have a different perspective. However, if the movies are great then people will go see them. I don’t think many of these MCU films in “Phase Four” have been that intriguing.

That’s why I think one character can completely change the trajectory of the MCU, and his debut in this universe will get everyone as excited – or even more – than they used to be.

Deadpool is the character that can do that. There are rumblings about the plot of “Deadpool 3” that I will not spoil here. From what I know, MCU fans need to be ready for the wildest ride that you can possibly imagine. Comic book fans are going to be familiar with the story from the comics, and they should be over the moon about one of the most outrageous storylines coming to life on the silver screen. The MCU is down, but I think Deadpool can lift it back up. Too bad we have to wait until November 2024 to see the third installment of the franchise, and the first movie that will be under the Disney brand.