Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla answered questions about all things Colorado sports in a live chat on Monday. Here are the highlights.
Quick prediction: Do the Avs win it tonight? And if they do, what happens in Game 7?
Kiszla: Fair question. But I’m not in the absolute guaranteed prediction business unless I’m absolutely certain. I think there’s more than one outcome possible in every game. That’s why they have a scoreboard. That’s not snark, just truth. So I like to put percentages on the chance of victory. If Alabama is playing Lower Mississippi Valley State in football, the Tide has a 99.9 percent chance of victory. Game 6 between Avs and Sharks not so easy to predict. I’d give the Avs a 60 percent shot. My main reasons: Goalie Philipp Grubauer is hot and the Pepsi Center is a real home-ice advantage. The main reason I”m not so sure that Colorado will win: After loss in Game 5, which Avs had a chance to steal because Grubauer stood on his head, there was a real feeling of lost opportunity in the Colorado dressing room. The Avs are a confident group, but I also think they know deep down that San Jose is a slightly more talented team. So fans better cheer like crazy and pump up the volume in the arena. Avs need all the emotional boost that fans can give ’em.
How do we stop Damian Lillard? He scores at will against us and we keep letting him drive the lane. Do we have an answer to stop him?
Kiszla: Think the Nuggets have done a pretty good, on balance, against the Royal Dame in their backsides. Lillard is scoring, sometimes way too easy on drives to the basket. But Denver has done good job of staying in his face on jump shots, forcing Lillard to hoist a whole lotta attempts to score his points. Warning: When asked after Game 4 what’w making the Denver D so good against Lillard, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic spanned the stat sheet, shook his head and said: “Brother, he scored 30 points.” If memory serves, Lillard actually scored “only” 28 in Game 4. But you get the point. Denver can’t stop Lillard. Not sure anybody can. You know it. I know it. The Joker knows it.
Hey Kiz, what’s your thoughts on will Barton’s role next year? Seems he’s really done better coming the bench than starting. Might he accept that as being better for him and not a “demotion?”
Kiszla: Will Barton’s best role for the Nuggets is as their sixth man, capable of providing a change of pace and instant offense when he’s hot. Barton did not like this idea, when his “demotion” happened during the San Antonio series. But I think he’s warmed to the idea of coming off the bench again, and I think Barton would probably accept that role again next season. Why? Barton has figured out the $50 million he got by signing a new contract last summer will buy him a lot of nice stuff, whether he starts or not.
Kiz, is there any hope for the Rapids this year?
Kiszla: Well, I hate to say: Nope. Zero. None. Anything’s possible, I guess. But this team stinks. It needs new leadership and new ideas. And I’m talking way beyond the recent change from Anthony Hudson to Conor Casey as coach.
Does the Brett Rypien kid have a real shot or was he just brought in to fill a slot?
Kiszla: The Broncos gave Rypien a boatload of money for an undrafted free agent. So they will give him a shot. They won’t cut him. What will Rypien make of his opportunity? That’s why we stand under the bright, hot sun at training camp. To find out.
Kiz, How do you see the Broncos addressing the ILB position? Are there any remaining free agents that you see as a good fit? Is there anyone on the roster that you see a a diamond in the rough?
Kiszla: The Broncos could have drafted linebacker Devin Bush at No. 10. traded down.I didn’t like the move. Broncomaniacs suggested I was a nattering nabob of negativity. You looking for hidden gems at linebacker. You mean like found money in seat cushions of the sofa? Good luck. If you find a 100-dollar bill in the sofa, will you split it with me?
Any word on the latest with and the Broncos? They have a killer secondary with CH there, but I’m worried if they trade him, we’ll be suffering like we did last year.
Kiszla: John Elway said he would talk to Chris Harris Jr after the draft about a contract. Elway didn’t say when. Elway wants to establish who’s the boss. I think it’s kind of a jerk move. But Elway has won a as a GM doing it his way. We. Shall. See. And I do agree with Elway on this: Harris is not worth $15 million per year. He’s awesome. But you can’t make everybody on a 6-10 team the richest player at his position in the league.
Avs had higher TV ratings than Nuggets in this postseason. Is NHL more popular than NBA in Denver? Thank you a greetings from the Czech Republic.
Kiszla: I was in the Czech Republic during the summer of 2017. Loved it. Met one fine fellow who wanted to talk Milan Hejduk and hockey and wouldn’t let me go until he heard everything I knew. Well, telling everything I know only takes about five minutes. But the conversation made me smile and made me realize how big hockey is in the Czech Republic.
Man, when do the Rockies finally bench Ian Desmond and start Raimel Tapia full time? The kid’s up and down a better player.
Kiszla: I think that move to replace Ian Desmond with Tapia as a regular in the Rockies outfield is already underway. Bears watching. As I’ve said many times in the last couple years, it seems to me the best role for Desmond is as a super utility man, able to give players at many positions a day off to recover from the grind of home games at altitude.
Mark: What am I missing? I would have thought that ILB would have been a priority after the first three picks played out. Are we satisfied the scheme will make us better? Justin Hollins is an OLB taken in the fifth round and we could have had Ben Burr Kirven who is an All-American at the ILB position, the Pac-12 defensive player of the year who aside from his coverage skills is a tackling machine. Instead he will eventually replace Bobby Wagner in Seattle. A regretful omission.
Kiszla: I was not as crazy about the strategy Denver employed in this NFL draft as many fine analysts, both in town and across the country. Since when did drafting the second-best tight end from Iowa become a sound plan for the first round? But that’s just me. Hope I’m wrong. For the sake of Broncomaniacs everywhere.
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