Denver Post sports columnist Mark Kiszla answered questions about all things Colorado sports in a Lunch Special live chat on Monday. Here are the highlights:
Hey Mark, how does it feel to have been so completely wrong about Paul Millsap? Cheers, and thanks for the response.
Kiszla: Let’s talk Millsap. He has been good this season. Very good. $30 million good? Nope. Valuable? Yes. But he was $60 million bust for two seasons. I have been right. Times 60 million. You’re welcome.
Kiz, can you tell me which one is the real DaeSean Hamilton? The kid balled out yesterday, but he struggled mightily with those drops earlier in the year.
Kiszla: The real DaeSean Hamilton is both the receiver who dropped balls earlier in the season and the player who had a wonderful game against the Lions. He’s a young player trying to figure things out. Can he be a contributor to the Broncos? Absolutely. Should we expect him to be a future Pro Bowl receiver, or even a consistent No.2 receiver? Only if you’re drinking the Orange Kool-Aid.
Kiz, I can’t tell you how much I’m on board the Drew Lock train. I was actually excited to watch the game last night and I’m looking forward to next Sunday already. Are you buying a ticket?
Kiszla: As I wrote from Drew Lock’s first start, he has the swag to be a legit NFL starting quarterback. His play in four games: 1) Saved John Elway’s bacon as the GM; 2) Re-energized the locker room, and 3) Earned Lock a full chance to be the team’s QB of the future. Now, that being said, is it OK to be fair and balanced? No, I mean really fair and balanced. What Lock has shown is fine promise. What Lock has also revealed is that the hopes of Broncomaniacs for Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter and Case Keenum were a joke. Lock is a legit NFL QB. Keenum is a legit NFL back-up. Sloter is a legit NFL fringe player. None of that is bad. It is what it is. But is Lock more than an average NFL starting QB? That remains to be seen.
I know we’re not supposed to talk about anything but the Broncos but how about them Nuggets beating LA in LA? Pretty impressive I think.
Kiszla: I rushed home after filing my column game and watched the Nuggets play the Lakers in Los Angeles. Yes, I get the games on the TV at my house. Legally, I might add. Every road victory in the NBA is good. Gary Harris played his best game of the year. Paul Millsap, my old buddy, played good basketball, rather than the slightly above replacement-level basketball that was his norm during the first two years and $60 million of his contract. The Nuggets are a legit 55-win team. That is all NBA-tastic. But impressive W? As you might have noticed, LeBron James did not play one second against the Nuggets. As has been duly noted, James is playing way more phenomenal basketball in his mid 30s than most pros his age can even dream about (but let’s not belabor the obvious Millsap truths that rah-rahs don’t want to hear). So it was a good, solid W for the Nuggets. But without James, the Lakers would have to fight and scratch and claw to be the 7th or 8th seed in the Western Conference. To make the NBA Finals, the Nuggets are most likely going to have to beat LeBron and the Lakers on their home court in the playoffs. Now that would be very impressive. And it’s possible.
Kiz, do you think Larry Walker deserves to make the Hall of Fame? Damn talented five-tool player but injury prone. I can’t decide.
Kiszla: My Hall of Fame ballot was cast weeks ago. I have not voted for Mr. Walker in his nine previous appearances on the ballot. I have listened to all the arguments in Walk’s favor. I agreed to allow the Hall to reveal my ballot two weeks after the votes are tabulated. So you’ll know then, if not sooner, how I voted this year. But you won’t know during this chat. You are, however, welcome to guess.
It looks like the Broncos are probably going to end up with an early- to mid-teen pick in the draft. Who should they target there? What do you think about Laviska Shenault? Kid would look good in orange and blue.
Kiszla: Laviska Shenault is an amazing receiving talent. His strength and ball skills are fantastic. His history of injury? Well, that’s a red flag. I suspect that Shenault will make a team very happy that drafts in the latter third of the opening round. And it would not surprise me if Shenault, like some guy named Courtland Sutton, falls into the second round and makes a name for himself as a draft steal.
Is Drew Lock the real deal? He looks every bit the part to be the Broncos’ starter for the next five years.
Kiszla: Do Mizzou fans have a new second-favorite NFL team? Or does your allegiance for Drew Lock now outweigh any affinity you might have for the Kansas City Chiefs? Lock has a chance to be the Broncos’ starter for the next five years. Can Lock go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes for the next five years? Well, that’s a whole nuther story.
Kiz, we always talk about how CU football fails to recruit local talent, but how about the women’s basketball team? There are so many top-tier players over the years that fled the state for bigger programs, like Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA), Fran Belibi (Stanford) and Kylee Shook (Louisville). If we can just get these players to stay at home, CU would be a perennial Top 25 team. What says you?
Kiszla: I’m so experienced (or old) that I remember when Ceal Barry had the CU Events Center rockin’ with a top 25 women’s hoops team, and I traveled with The Post to write columns on Becky Hammon and the CSU Rams in the NCAA Tournament. Nobody asked me, but I’ve long believed our fair state is a more fertile ground for young female athletes than male athletes. And that makes me confident that CU hoops has every reason to believe it can be a perennial power in women’s basketball.
Do the Broncos need to upgrade players or coordinators?
Kiszla: I’m a believer that players win and coaches help players win. Having a great NFL QB is more important to an NFL franchise than having a great head coach or great offensive coordinator. Rich Scangarello has been justifiably criticized for struggling during his first season as the Broncos’ OC. But he’s a much better OC with Drew Lock as his quarterback than Joe Flacco as his quarterback. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
[scribble src=”/event/2916282″ /]
Mobile users, .
