Sean Keeler: Friday, when you toss in the snow and the USWNT? So cool. Literally. Saturday? Electric. Sunday? TCB. As in, Take Care of Business. And, by golly, the Avs better. When it comes to the first two rounds of the playoffs, there’s more pressure on Bednar to not get upset, because a.) He’s been here longer and everyone’s opinion on the big guy — pro or con — is pretty well set in stone by now; b.) You’re the No. 1 seed; c.) Bednar’s contract is up after next season. The Kings are the kind of first-round opponent the Avs should dispense of quickly — but they’re also the kind that are going to make you absolutely work for it. The Kings are going to hit you late. Hit you early. Hit you coming off the dang bus. Ugly hockey with a hot goaltender is Plan A for any underdog, and Bednar has to prove for the next eight days or so that he can win 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 kind of slugfests. So far, so good.

Renck: Outcomes microwave expectations. The Nuggets shot poorly and still smashed the Timberwolves in Game 1. It cemented the notion that Denver is capable of reeling off 16 victories over the next two months. But it is not likely. Having to go through the Spurs and Thunder creates a path more suited for a mountain goat. This is the first reason Adelman has less at stake. The second? Injuries provided him cover all season. The Nuggets secured the No. 3 seed because of his dynamic offense and ability to help role players reach their potential. But if Denver loses to the Spurs, for instance, it will be viewed as a disappointment, not a crash out. The same cannot be said for Bednar if the Avs fail to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Keeler: The outside noise will be louder for whatever the Nuggets do (or don’t do) this spring. The road’s tougher. The tension’s higher. Adelman’s regular season had more twists and turns than Nikola Jokic’s over 30 now, and everybody knows we’re unlikely to see his kind of NBA greatness in Denver gold, for this long, ever again. Josh Kroenke loves all his assets equally (wink), but let’s also be real: He’s a hoopster, not a puck head. The highest-up in KSE have the last word on Nuggets business. When it comes to the Avs, they’re more likely to defer to Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland and admit they know what they don’t know. Unlike the end of the Michael Malone Era, Bednar’s led a comparatively calm, steady ship. Sakic digs that. C-Mac digs that. So do Josh and Stan.

Renck: Bednar has shown growth this season. He seems more willing to experiment, and demonstrated common sense by sticking with Scott Wedgewood in goal. Management has always exercised patience with Bedsy. But fans will not. In the recent ESPN top 50 ranking of players in the postseason, the Avs featured three in the top 10 — MacKinnon (first), Cale Makar (fourth) and Martin Necas (10th). And Wedgewood came in at No. 34. It is impossible to have this kind of star talent and steady third-and-fourth-line grinders and not be favored. Bednar is under more pressure, but must remain aggressive. Adelman, in some ways, has nothing to lose after the first round. Bednar must see his situation as everything to gain.

Keeler: And as much as we harp on Joker’s window, the Avs have long since pushed all their chips to the middle of the table. They’re bringing nine players who are 31 years or older into the postseason grind. Gabe Landeskog is 33. Naz Kadri is 35. Brent Burns is 41. If it’s not now, is it never? Should Bedsy get bounced before the second round, Stan Kroenke might have no choice but to change horses in a race he’d prefer to leave alone.

Which is a shame, really, because Adelman’s done a better job in his first season as Nuggets coach than social media would ever let on.

We’ve devoted a lot of bandwidth to the games Adelman has let slip away this regular season.

Yet ask yourself this: What would’ve happened in those 17 tilts the Nuggets played earlier this season without Nikola Jokic if Michael Malone was still coaching this team?

They wouldn’t have gone 11-6. I’ll promise you that.

Adelman won 11 of the 17 games he coached this season when the Joker was inactive or didn’t dress. Context: Malone went 11-16 from 2022-2025 in non-Jokic games. More context: Malone was 2-6 in the eight non-Joker games prior to that.

Say what you will about DA, the motivational speaker, DA the wordsmith, DA in the locker room, or DA at the postgame podium. The man can coach.

We mention this because of the calendar. The Great Nuggets Purge celebrates its first birthday on Wednesday. On April 8, 2025, Josh Kroenke dismissed Malone as coach and Calvin Booth as general manager, ending years of awkward, often conflicting news conferences and months of behind-the-curtain tensions.

Yes, Malone, the winningest coach in franchise history, was done dirty in the deal. But the move hasn’t exactly aged poorly so far, has it?

On Tuesday, Malone was officially introduced as the new men’s hoops coach at North Carolina. Tar Heels brass celebrated Purge Day by handing Malone a $50-million gift card. Pretty nice parachute, if you can get it.

The Nuggets (51-28), meanwhile, entertain the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Ball Arena, having won nine in a row and vaulted the LOLakers into the third spot of the Western Conference playoff bracket in the process.

The Grizz (25-54) are the last team to beat Denver, notching a 125-118 stunner in Bluff City on March 18 in the second half of a Nuggets back-to-back.

On this day last April, the Nuggets’ record was 47-32. They’d gone 3-7 since St. Patrick’s Day, had lost four straight, and were fading fast. They were 17.5 games back of conference-leading Oklahoma City.

On Tuesday, after a wild OT win over Portland, the Nuggets had won 51 games and were 11.5 games back of OKC. They’re 9-0 since March 19.

So: Did Josh make the right call?

From a chemistry standpoint, there’s no doubt. The organizational “vibe” is better, by all accounts. And, sure, Adelman has a deeper, better, more modular, and more veteran roster than Malone got in either of the previous two campaigns.

Would Booth have gotten the green light to trade Michael Porter Jr.? It’s tough to say. But what his replacements, Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, pulled off by swapping MPJ to the Nets opened up desperately-needed cap space. Which, in turn, allowed the Nuggets to turn one very good player (Porter) into four pretty good veteran ones (Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas). Which, in hindsight, helped Denver to weather its non-Jokic month, too.

But be careful with revisionist history.

DA Ball at Ball can be an acquired taste. The defense continues to go as far as Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson can carry it, and the two have rarely played together since Christmas. Denver rallied Monday night against Portland, but gave up a whopping 25 3-pointers along the way. It feels as if at least 15 different players have put up career shooting nights against this bunch.

But if the Nuggets win Wednesday, it’ll be 10 straight victories — something no Denver team has done in the Jokic Era.

Shouldn’t Adelman be getting some flowers for that, at least? His 51 wins are the most ever by a first-year Nuggets coach in the NBA era during a full initial season. Larry Brown still holds the first-year record overall, with a 65-19 ABA mark in 1974-75.

Elsewhere, the world keeps turning. Malone held his inaugural UNC news conference on Tuesday. His first collegiate head-coaching job is one of the bluest of blue bloods — and hottest seats in the sport. Since Dean Smith hung up his gilded whistle in 1997, the three coaches who’ve followed (Bill Gutheridge, Matt Doherty, Hubert Davis) who weren’t Roy Williams averaged just 3.7 seasons each at the helm.

Note to Triangle media: Michael can be as cuddly as a New York cabbie, with the patience and vocabulary to match. He suffers fools ungladly, although often with humor. To wit, when a reporter on Tuesday mentioned the coach’s “tenacious” defense with the Nuggets, Malone replied, “It wasn’t always tenacious.”

Laughed at that one.

Still, deep down, Michael’s a family guy. Malone’s daughter, Bridget, is in her second season with the UNC volleyball team after a stellar run at Mountain Vista High School. Chapel Hill is one of the premier college towns in America. Wish him well. Wish him luck. With that fan base, he’ll need it.

“He belongs in coaching,” Adelman said of Malone on Monday. “And that’s what he should be doing.”

A month earlier, funny enough, Booth also went the college route. . The Lions finished 12-20 a year ago and have reached the Big Dance just once since 2010. Happy Valley is gorgeous (significantly less so in the winter), but it’s also a wrestling school the way DU is a hockey one. Wish him luck, too.

Ain’t it funny how time flies when everybody’s pulling in the same direction? A year after Purge Day, Malone’s a Tar Heel. Booth’s a Nittany Lion. And the Nuggets, in spite of themselves, might be better off.

And Draymond Green may be a lot of things. But the man’s no fool.

“What we’ve seen now is the tip of the iceberg (for Watson). He ain’t even scratched the surface yet,” “Peyton Watson is going to be an elite NBA player … so, y’all keep an eye out for Peyton Watson. That kid is going to be an All-Star. No questions asked.”

Exactly. And yet, because it’s April, because it’s “Where Will LeBron Play Next Year” season, silly questions give way to even sillier suggestions.

On Tuesday, longtime ESPN scribes Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps authored a piece for Worldwide Leader’s website — including one that featured the Nuggets. In it, they speculated that Denver and Los Angeles could work out a sign-and-trade that would see the Lakers land Peyton Watson (a former UCLA star and Long Beach native) or Cam Johnson for the King. This was backed by an unnamed source, a “West executive,” who suggested:

“Who is the only guy on (James’) level from a basketball IQ standpoint in the league? Go there and team up with that guy.”

‘There’ would be the Front Range. The ‘only guy’ would be Nikola Jokic. Fun? Sure. Flattering? No doubt. But for Watson? Who ships a 23-year-old player coming into their prime for a soon-to-be 42-year-old? Even if that middle-aged wonder is one of the best five guys to ever play the game?

Yes, Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at age 42. Barry Bonds, at the same age, led the National League in walks (132). Some 44 years earlier, a 42-year-old Warren Spahn led the National League in wins (23). Age is just a number.

Although the numbers in this scenario are bonkers. Especially when you consider that, odds are, James is staying put with the Lakers, popping back to the Cavaliers, or hanging it up. Of the ESPN.com hypotheticals, Denver was fifth on the list — and it’s hard to believe King James’ camp, once push comes to shove, would even have to dig that deep.

But let’s humor the concept for a second.

There’s the cost, for one thing. Watson is a restricted free agent after the season who’s made the Nuggets look bad for not giving him an extension earlier — putting up, as of Tuesday evening, career highs in points (14.9 per game) and rebounds. A show-stopping leaper and defender over his first three seasons on Chopper Circle, at age 23, he’s evolved into a foundational, two-way wing whose jumper now complements years of sky-walking athleticism. He’s also currently sporting a team-friendly $4.36 million cap number. That’s about to be tripled, or quadrupled, by somebody.

King James is slated to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent coming off a $52.6 million cap hit this season following a $48.7 million hit in ’24-25. If he’s going to give any franchise a “hometown” discount, it’s more likely to be given to his actual hometown — Cleveland — than to the Nuggets. If the Kroenkes can’t afford Watson, how would they turn around and justify stretching the cap that much more for James?

There are the realities of the East vs. the West. If the King wants at least one more ring, more power to him. Oklahoma City’s core is young enough that they’re not going anywhere, and the Spurs with Victor Wembanyama are right behind them. The road back to the Finals in the East through Detroit, Boston and New York is far easier than the brutal hellscape of the current West bracket.

There’s the fit. Remember The Russell Westbrook Experience? Now picture that vibe, times about 50. As part of Team ‘Bron, the Joker might start seeing kinder foul calls come his way more consistently. But when you get The King, you get his demands, his parameters, his show. And maybe his family members, too. In some ways, it wouldn’t be all that unlike The Prime Effect at CU. And yet, this situation is markedly different than Boulder four years ago. The Buffs, at the time, needed an identity besides irrelevance and bad football. The Nuggets don’t.

On the court, James is an alpha who can play with anybody. If you squint hard enough, you can even see LeBron doing for the Nuggets next year what Aaron Gordon, whose health has become a daily concern, does now. Although so could Watson, at a price close to or less than James’ likely asking price.

The genius in building this Nuggets core was not just in finding Jokic and grooming him into a generational big man. It was also in finding pieces that accented Joker’s ridiculous, prodigious strengths (hands, feet, vision, touch, IQ, passing, shooting, ball-handling, strength, physicality, dexterity, anticipation, etc., etc.) while simultaneously lessening the impact of his few on-court weaknesses (rim protection, straight-line speed).

Jokic could find the open man in the middle of a crowded supermarket, so you surround him with excellent spot-up shooters (Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., Aaron Gordon, etc., etc.) and let him pick from several poisons. He can hit an earwig in stride from 80 yards away, so you give him superlative sprinters and finishers on runouts (Also Gordon, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Bruce Brown, etc., etc.). He’ll contest shots, but probably won’t swat many into the second row — so you pair him with defenders who can cut off the supply chain of drivers at the head (Also AG, also Watson, also Braun, also Brown, etc., etc.).

Even at age 41, King James is still an elite scoring machine (20.7 points per game as of Wednesday). That long-distance shooting, though, has been slipping — James’ 41% conversion rate on 3-pointers in ’23-24 dropped to 37.6% last season and was at 31.4% as of Wednesday, a dip of 10% over about three years.

Watson, meanwhile, is trending in the exact opposite direction on his treys. Two seasons ago? 29.6%. A year ago? 35.3%. This season, before Wednesday? 41.5%.

And then there’s the defense. , James went into Wednesday evening with a Defensive Rating (DR) of 116 opponent points allowed per 100 possessions (lower is better), and that number has been trending the wrong way, too. Last season, LeBron’s DR was 114, the same as the season before that. In ’22-23, that DR was 113. In ’21-22, it was 111. Career blocks per 100 possessions: 1.0 — 0.9 this season, 0.8 two years prior.

While Watson’s DR, per Basketball-Reference, Even in a “down” defensive year for P-Swat, he was blocking 1.9 shots per 100 possessions this season before the midweek Utah trip, after 2.7 stuffs per 100 possessions in ’24-25 and 2.9 per 100 in ’23-24.

“Peyton Watson has gotten so much better,” Green continued. “He clearly has a high-level processor. When you have a high-level processor in this league, it’s an advantage. It’s very understated, but a very big advantage.”

Why give that one up so soon? When it comes to the question of an old King or a young Watson for the Nuggets next season,

Is it fair to ask him to manage frustration in its absence?

Heck no. The Nuggets don’t need Jokic to play the heavy in the locker room.

But yes, somebody must provide bad cop energy, even if broadly defined, for the Nuggets to return to the NBA Finals.

This topic surfaced when an interview with Jokic dropped recently on the team’s YouTube page. about his process on learning to lead. His answer was refreshingly honest.

“I think a leader is someone who, sometimes, needs to be a bad guy, and I think that’s something I cannot be,” Jokic said. “When I get over that border– or take that next step — and stop worrying about whether they’re going to like me, sometimes you need to be the bad guy.”

The Nuggets cannot overlook this element as they creep into the postseason, attempting to secure the third or fourth seed. They cannot dismiss this impact.

And of course, they cannot mess with Jokic. He already carries too much burden to ask him to navigate another responsibility that is not natural for him.

Don’t take this out of context. Jokic is not a follower.

He provides leadership through tactical suggestions. Watch him in timeouts. He imparts strategy on offensive sets, defensive switches, and sometimes even tells teammates what inbounds plays opponents are running.

Everyday Jokic wears a Nuggets uniform, president Josh Kroenke and co-general managers Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace should send him texts on how much they value his contributions.

“Being the bad cop doesn’t mean you have to do it on camera. Some people do things in public make it look a certain way in public and it doesn’t do anything to help your team,” coach David Adelman said Wednesday night. “Saying something to your team or your teammates, that is out of respect. And that is very much happening with our team.”

Even as Adelman believes Jokic is “doing a good job” with strong leadership, one thing is missing for Jokic to become a top-10 player of all time. A second championship. All on that list have it.

Jokic elbowed into the pantheon of greatness with three MVPs, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Shaquille O’Neal among the top centers to ever roam the earth. With a fourth — the one swiped from him by Joel Embiid because of voter fatigue — he would already be in the top 10 without another ring.

Now, there is no guarantee he will win a title or the top individual trophy again.

No player 30 years or older has won MVP since Steve Nash in 2006. Jokic turned 31 on Feb. 19. He will likely finish fourth in the MVP balloting this season behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Luca Doncic, his first time outside the top three since the 2019-20 season.

A championship remains realistic now that the Nuggets are healthy and their schedule is no longer a sequel to “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

To hear apologists tell it, Denver has had the toughest travel since the 1899 Sewanne Tigers, who won five college football games in six days on the road, including walking several miles to a stadium after an opponent’s fans greased the railroad tracks so their train could not stop.

My sarcasm was deliberate, and a reminder of why the Nuggets need a bad cop. The playoffs are no time for excuses.

My nominations, in order, are Aaron Gordon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Braun.

This isn’t a role that requires dealing with chaos or moodiness — Russell Westbrook is no longer on the team, remember? It centers on reluctance. As in the unwillingness to sell out defensively on a consistent basis.

It is the only thing preventing the Nuggets from making a deep playoff run. They are the NBA’s best offensive club, and are getting better with Peyton Watson’s return and rotations taking shape.

The postseason, however, is different. Scoring shrinks from role players in road games.

So while Jokic and Jamal Murray are as reliable as an ol’ pickup truck, they need the defense to become just as predictable.

Knowing that they can get stops when it matters most is more important than clutch shots.

Trying to win 16 games with an offensive-tilt is misguided, mirroring how MLB teams reliant on home runs get knocked out by good pitching every October.

We have seen Gordon’s scowl, his screws turn slightly lefty loosey on the threads. He does not run from confrontation, as seen Tuesday when he returned a hard pick with a more brutal screen, and mockingly clapped at the refs when Jokic drew a T.

Can he direct that same energy into a huddle if the Nuggets start out flat? Of course.

Hardaway brings a resume that demands respect. Though only in his first season as a Nugget, he has no problem getting to the point. Could he get embers glowing? Absolutely.

It is in Braun’s makeup to lead. He plays with intensity and is not afraid to talk trash. Talking truth to teammates is harder given his complementary role and age, but he knows the game so well that he should pick his spots to speak up.

I know, you think it should come from coach David Adelman? Well, Mike Malone tried that last April, and you saw how that worked out.

“There has been a lot of emotion in film sessions with multiple guys,” Adelman said.

The best teams are player-led. Where guys self-police, holding each other accountable. We saw this group do that a year ago, coming together after Malone was fired.

They need something better, more forceful. They need strong voices to be candid when standards are not being met, most notably with defensive effort.

Adelman does not coddle players. He tells them the truth, and every player I have talked to appreciates that from him, including Jokic.

But Adelman is not going to call rage timeouts. Or spew lava from the sideline or behind a microphone. He is more mad scientist than mad anything else (though he will get blamed if this team falls short).

“I probably seem pretty calm but I am kind of psychotic sometimes,” Adelman said.

Still, this is a player thing.

The Nuggets feed off Jokic’s toughness and brilliance, which is what made Tuesday’s win encouraging.

Tired of the nipping Chihuahuas’ defense against him, Jokic let the official have it early on, getting a technical. It was clearly intentional to send a message. Jokic let loose, then became refocused, which has not always been the case, as the officials sometimes stay in his head for far too long.

Again, this is where an edge from a leader — or a collective — comes into play.

Sometimes, even Jokic needs to be told to get over it. He accepts constructive criticism from my observation. And we know there will be nights this postseason when a voice is required to turn on the defense’s pilot light.

If the Nuggets want to play for another championship, they need a player — or players — to provide fire in uncomfortable moments. Adelman believes his group can handle it. Hope he is right.

Because the Nuggets need a bad cop to complement Jokic’s great play.

The last and possibly the worst of his seven turnovers was a thwarted shot attempt that looked more like a pass. It could be mistaken for the latter only because Jokic had thrown so many errant passes over the last two hours already. This, like the others, was on a road to nowhere. Gift-wrapped for the nearest defender to intercept in the middle of the floor.

Jokic was backing down Jarrett Allen when it happened. Spinning away from the baseline, the three-time MVP suddenly flung the ball toward the weak side with 43 seconds to go. “I lost the ball, and then the ball went that way,” he said afterward. “I tried to score, but I lost the ball on the spin. … It was not a pass.” It wasn’t actually a shot, either. With the benefit of Jokic’s explanation, it resembled more of a flailing attempt to draw a foul. He thought he got hit on the arm.

“Did he get fouled? I don’t know,” coach David Adelman said.

Whatever it was, no Nuggets were in the vicinity. The sloppy error led to a game-tying 3-pointer from James Harden, and eventually a 119-117 Nuggets loss in the last second — their fourth loss in five games.

“I mean, we played probably the top three teams in the NBA,” Jokic said when asked if he’s discouraged or unconcerned by how Denver has played in its first real skid of the season. “Probably two of those three games, we were kind of in the game. We were close. And today, we played against a team who changed the team (last week) basically. They have two really good players and a lot of shooters around them. So are we happy with the losses? No. But I think we can build on the games that we played.”

Not worried — yet

Jokic can generally be taken at his word when he offers a glass-half-full evaluation of his team, if only because he’s plenty willing to take a candidly glass-half-empty stance as well. Last season, he declared the Nuggets had “tricked ourselves into (thinking) that we are playing good” immediately after a career-best nine-game winning streak ended. As it turned out, Josh Kroenke recognized it as a facade, too. It was only convincing enough to save Michael Malone’s job for two more months.

So it’s perhaps equally telling when Denver’s franchise superstar is hesitant to worry during a slump. This isn’t anywhere near doomsday for the 2025-26 Nuggets from Jokic’s vantage point. Nonetheless, their fourth-quarter collapse against the Cavs was another avoidable home loss, and Jokic’s floor game bore some of the blame, even as he amassed a league-leading 19th triple-double. He committed seven of the team’s 13 turnovers, most of them on inaccurate or forced passes, while attempting only 11 shots from the field and passing out of numerous post-ups down the stretch. He told reporters afterward that he didn’t anticipate situations quickly enough before making decisions.

“He was aggressive to go down there,” Adelman said. “A lot of times, you run the pick-and-roll. … When he’s aggressive to go down there and he feels like he has an advantage, we’re gonna go down there. That’s what he does. It was unfortunate. I felt for the guys. We created a lot of open shots. The 41 3s was a good number, in my opinion, tonight just because the way they guarded. We just didn’t have a great shooting night.”

In one of the weirdest statistics of this entire NBA season, the Nuggets are now 8-2 in games involving clutch time without Jokic, but 5-11 in clutch games when he plays.

Not that any of his teammates are blaming him. Almost everything went wrong as an 11-point lead slipped away in the last eight minutes on Monday. The Nuggets struggled to contain Donovan Mitchell, who scored at will or created advantages with his dribble penetration. The Cavs manufactured second-chance opportunities on the glass. Their role players sparked the comeback with timely 3s. Denver’s role players couldn’t buy a bucket suddenly for a few possessions, and that was enough to reinvigorate the visitors.

Tim Hardaway Jr. — who was closing over Julian Strawther because of both experience and switchability onto James Harden, according to Adelman — missed a clean 3-point look that would’ve given Denver the lead with 10 seconds left. Jamal Murray fouled Donovan Mitchell 0.9 seconds before the buzzer in transition to give Cleveland the decisive points. The Nuggets couldn’t produce a quality shot out of their last inbound play, settling for an awkward Jokic leaner.

“Felt like we were up 10, and then they got a few offensive rebounds. Hit a 3. We miss the open one. Great look, great offense. Then they come down, offensive rebound, three,” Murray said. “So it’s just like those little ones, those details, we’ve gotta pay attention to. Because we’re playing well for the whole game. It’s just a couple stints where we’re keeping them in it or allowing them to have confidence or an opportunity or another shot at it. … We’re giving them one too many chances, and then it’s coming back to bite us.”

‘A weird rhythm’

Also looming over every decision right now is Jokic’s playing time, which the Nuggets are still trying to monitor in the aftermath of his knee injury (and a recent ankle tweak in New York). The superstar center played an unusual pattern of minutes against Cleveland, starting the second and fourth quarters in a stagger with the bench unit. That meant a quick respite in the middle of both quarters, and a return to the court for only the last three to four minutes of each half.

It was merely the latest example of an ever-changing rotation, which Nuggets coach David Adelman has been trying to assemble around various injuries and minute restrictions.

“They’ve handled it well. It’s just, it’s not a fun thing for anybody. It really screws with your rhythm,” Adelman said. “And let’s think about this: It’s not just Nikola. I bring Jonas (Valanciunas) in for a short period of time. He misses two free throws, but he’s stiff. He’s playing short bursts. And then the other part of that is if I get Jamal out, Nikola starting quarters helps us, but it also breaks up (Jokic’s) minutes. So it’s just where we’re at right now. It’s not why we lost the game. It’s just a weird rhythm to how we’re playing right now.

“I know when we get through the All-Star break, we’ll re-discuss what that is, and we’ll get back to a more normal rotation. … It’s an inexact science. If we scored 120 (tonight), I’d feel great about the rotation. But we didn’t. We lost by two, and I can’t stand it. That’s just the way it is.”

Jokic is now a minus-41 in 77 clutch minutes this season, with nine assists, four turnovers and a 26% clip from 3-point range. He’s been one of the most reliable players in the sport with games on the line in recent years, but Denver’s clutch execution with him on the court has developed into a mystifying anomaly in 2025-26.

Thirteen out of 20 losses have been within grasp for the Nuggets in the last five minutes. The 20th probably should’ve been secured before then. But it slipped out of Jokic’s hands and into James Harden’s in a span of 10 seconds.

“This is one of the ones you’ll remember at the end of the year,” Adelman said.

Bucket-getting big men

Nikola Jokic slowly worked his way out to the perimeter early. He started by spinning around defenders for a pair of smooth buckets in the post. Then he tested his touch with a “Sombor Shuffle” fade-away, about 15 feet deep. Then he fired his first shot from the 3-point line, also pure.

He was incapable of missing. But soon enough, it became clear that Jokic wouldn’t need to extend his range too much to bludgeon Sacramento with his scoring. His only other 3-point attempt was a 2-for-1 possession at the end of the first half, when he was intentionally rushing a shot to ensure Denver would get another possession. (He made it.) The Nuggets found their superstar in the pocket, and he went for 36 points on 14 of 16 shooting, eventually tacking on 12 rebounds and eight of the team’s 35 assists.

The real magic trick of Denver’s performance was that it looked as if Jokic never left. His backup did a mighty impressive imitation, scoring 15 points without missing from the field. Against the team that traded him to Denver, Jonas Valanciunas showed off his silky touch on the sorts of interior jumpers and hook shots that are commonplace for Jokic.

Domantas Sabonis was out for the Kings, so the Nuggets’ centers compensated by treating Sacramento to a big man scoring clinic. They combined to make 21 of 23 shots for 38% of Denver’s points.

Pickett in rotation, Nnaji out

Sacramento was the site of a season-affirming performance from Jalen Pickett eight months ago. It was David Adelman’s first game as interim head coach, April 9, the day after Stan and Josh Kroenke had rolled the dice and fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth in one fell swoop. The Nuggets were in danger of missing the playoffs with three games to go, but they came through amid the chaos with a 124-116 win.

Pickett was an unlikely hero with 18 efficient points and four assists.

Playing time has always been hard to come by for the reserve point guard. But he provided solid minutes in Sacramento again Thursday, filling out David Adelman’s nine-man rotation with six points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

It was a modest but steady showing, including one nice read in which he slowed down and turned his back to the basket in transition, waiting for Bruce Brown to catch up to the play. As he did, Pickett flicked a semi-no-look pass to him in stride for a layup.

The Nuggets were a plus-10 with Pickett on the floor. He has replaced power forward Zeke Nnaji as that ninth man in two consecutive games, winning his minutes both nights. Nnaji had occupied those minutes for several games since Aaron Gordon’s hamstring injury.

Pour one out for Russ

In his 18th season, Russell Westbrook is playing his heart out for an organization that probably doesn’t deserve that effort level. He certainly had some extra motivation when facing the Nuggets this season after they spurned him in free agency, but he also simply doesn’t know any other way to play.

He was Sacramento’s leading scorer in three of four head-to-head matchups against Denver over the last two months, capped off by a 17-point game Thursday. He’s still finding ways to be productive after he nearly faded into obsolescence last offseason. He’s still averaging more than seven rebounds and seven assists. He’s still increasing his efficiency as a 3-point shooter despite his eternal reputation as a player without range. It would be a shame if he finished this season in Sacramento instead of on a contending roster.

In charge of the Nuggets’ offense since 2017, Adelman creates transition buckets and motion to exploit opponents. But, at its core, Denver’s foundation is simple.

“If you are on our team and you play selfishly, it sure as (heck) shows up,” Adelman said last week. “We move the ball and play the right way.”

It is, if we are being honest, the Jokic Way.

Therein lies the secret of what could be a milestone year for Nikola Jokic. He should win his fourth MVP award, but nothing would cement his legacy like a second championship.

Meet the Denver Nuggets: A complete roster breakdown heading into 2025-26 season

For the first time since 2023, the Nuggets have aligned the pieces to his liking.

Jokic bemoaned the team's lack of depth after Oklahoma City eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals -- the team's second straight early exit -- and co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer got the message.

The result was a makeover worthy of HGTV. Michael Porter Jr. was traded for the more versatile and less expensive Cam Johnson. They added an actual functional backup center in Jonas Valanciunas via another trade, and signed free agents Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown at bargain basement prices.

The result? This team, no wait, this organization has been refashioned in Jokic's image. No drama. All ball.

The paranoia and pettiness between coach and general manager can no longer infect the locker room with Michael Malone and Calvin Booth long since fired. The overreliance on prospects to build out the bench is also a thing of the past.

It is easy to translate the message Wallace and Tenzer received from team president Josh Kroenke: Win now while Jokic remains in his prime.

The Nuggets recognized it was time to stop making excuses about untenable contracts and time to start adding the right veterans to reinforce the team's culture.

So, it comes back to Jokic.

The Nuggets cannot take his happiness for granted anymore.

So they've given him everything he needs. Now, all the Nuggets need is for him to produce another historic season. He must not only deliver nightly triple-doubles but also assert his leadership on a regular basis.

This isn't Jeff Bridich asking Nolan Arenado to start waving pom-poms to camouflage the team's horrible pitching. This is the Nuggets creating an environment that brings out the best in Jokic on and off the floor, leaving him comfortable investing like he did with Serbia during the Paris Olympics.

"The expectation is through 82 (games) that he is more vocal. But 82 is a lot. It����ap those moments when things get tough, I’d like to see Jamal (Murray), Nikola, Aaron (Gordon), the guys who have been here and through the wars in basketball terms, speak up in film sessions and timeouts," Adelman said. "I don’t think you will see it every night. Everybody has to take a step in that direction. You are a year older, a year smarter. Use your leadership the best that you can."

Because of his established greatness, seeing differences in Jokic is nuanced. But teammates have taken notice. And they love this version of Joker.

"That is the message from ownership on down -- for us to take control and take ownership. And having Joker be vocal, having Jamal be vocal, having our marquee guys really lead not only by example but also verbally is huge. I think it����ap helped everybody out. And it����ap made the other guys more serious about it," forward Peyton Watson said.

"When you have new guys coming in and they see Jokic talking and playing hard and running the floor and beating everyone down the floor on a fast break ... when you see Joker doing that, you look yourself in the mirror and ask, 'Why can't I do that?'"

There is no reason. Jokic sets the standard for everything, starting with the Nuggets' style of play. He plays a beautiful game, his spatial awareness stunning. He recognizes players are open before they do.

Now, he has extra parts around him to amplify his strengths. Johnson could be the next Gordon, his numbers shrinking while his ego-free play enhances the group. Hardaway will never get more open 3s than this season. And Brown might have paid to play alongside Joker if the players' union let him.

The more guys who get Jokic, the better.

That was not the case last season, when we witnessed Jokic boil over in frustration on multiple occasions.

"It's not easy, not easy going against him. He makes me step up and bring my 'A' game every day. Sometimes I am not feeling as well, don’t want to go as hard. He keeps me 100 percent," said Valanciunas, who should lighten Jokic's minutes load this season. "... I don’t know (how to) express how good he is, his passes."

After ignoring signs of dysfunction for too long, the Nuggets fixed things around their centerpiece.

For Jokic, it is never about his floor vision. It is the way he sees everything. He is a basketball savant. And if this season goes as expected, it will be clear why he is one of the greatest players ever.

After delaying contract extension talks with the Nuggets this summer and spurring inevitable speculation about his future, the three-time MVP told reporters on Monday that “my plan is to be (with the) Nuggets forever.”

Jokic, 30, has a minimum of two years remaining on his current contract, plus a player option for the 2027-28 season. The second-highest-salaried player in the NBA for the upcoming 2025-26 season, he became eligible in July for an extension that would add up to three years and an estimated $207 million to the current deal.

But when the Nuggets offered it, Jokic’s camp informed them that he intends to wait to engage in contract talks next summer, when Denver will be allowed to offer him an additional year and $80 million. Nuggets leadership anticipated and supported Jokic’s decision to delay, team sources told The Denver Post.

Still, Jokic has been mentioned throughout this summer as a such as the Warriors, Clippers and Lakers.

“I think those contract extensions come as a reward, as something that is natural to the sport,” Jokic said when asked if he plans to sign the extension next summer. “Especially in today’s NBA, you see how the salary cap is going and everything. My plan is to be Nuggets forever. So that’s my answer. Nugget forever. Or Nuggets.”

Jokic will be under contract in Denver until he’s 36 if and when he signs the extension. (He made light of his age during the team’s preseason media day event, telling a reporter when prompted about his 30s: “We don’t need to say that. We are friends. We don’t need to be enemies anymore.”) Nuggets president Josh Kroenke has made clear the team’s intention to offer him the full amount of money allowable.

“We feel good with that,” executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace said on Monday. “We’ve talked to him. … He’s in a good headspace, as are we.”

Tuesday, ESPN revealed it had secured Malone’s services for the upcoming NBA season.

Will Bednar join him? Is TV in his future?

Of all the jobs on the line in what feels like a Stanley Cup-or-bust season for the Avs, none is more tenuous than that of Bednar, who needs to coach like this season is a referendum on his resume.

Because it is.

The Avs did what the Nuggets did not. They ran it back, a concession to the carousel of players who barely had time to figure out where to live after the trade deadline, let alone establish meaningful chemistry on the ice.

Now, Bednar finds himself in a similar situation to Malone. He has one title, a former MVP player in Nathan MacKinnon, a rapidly closing championship window, and a stacked roster.

Check that, Bednar has it better. He has no excuses. Malone had a legitimate gripe. His general manager Calvin Booth failed him. Combine a heavy dose of paranoia with players outgrowing his rigid fatherly message, and now Malone is talking about games for a living.

So much for being the winningest coach in franchise history, huh? You know who else holds that honor? Bednar.

If the Avs don’t reach the Western Conference Finals, he’s probably gone. When the Avs decided to re-sign Brock Nelson, add Brent Burns and keep Marty Necas, the message was simple: They are all in. Yes, they said the same thing the last three seasons, but this is different.

“In 2022, we won it and the focus of that group reminds me of the focus our team has right now,” Bednar said at the team’s media day at Ball Arena on Wednesday. “It����ap a group we are hoping to start the season with and end the season with. I like the fact they can learn and grow together, so everyone’s responsibilities are not only clear, but they have this length of time to work through it to have the success we want to have. I think that����ap part of the reason I am so excited about it, and why our players are excited about it.”

Since raising the Cup, the Avs have dealt with more drama than “Desperate Housewives,” wondering when Gabe Landeskog was returning and if Valeri Nichushkin would be available. President Joe Sakic and general manager Chris MacFarland gambled that they could fix the plane while it was flying, replacing key members of the roster and shipping out star .

They did this in part because Bednar is a rock — a coach capable of handling upheaval with aplomb and no complaints.

While the personalities clicked, the group never coalesced or played its best when it mattered most.

Sakic and MacFarland looked at the roster after last spring’s exit and decided to hold tight. The goals cannot get any higher, and if this team fails, there will be a And it will not be Lee Majors. Hard to see Stan and Josh Kroenke not assigning the blame to Bednar.

It won’t be the core players. Maybe it will be MacFarland, though it is easy to argue that he has done his job well the past few years.

This leaves the focus on Bednar. He never lets the press see him sweat. Even if he doesn’t reveal urgency in his tone, his actions demonstrate as much.

Why do you think the Avs have a new power play boss? Bednar took a big swing this offseason, hiring former Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol after the Avs fizzled against the Stars. You cannot field this type of talent and keep coming up short when the opponent is short-handed.

The players are aware. The Avs have reached the playoffs 21 times since relocating to Colorado. If the goal ever becomes just the postseason, then something has gone terribly wrong.

“We are more solidified. No wondering. No holes in our lineup. The playoffs are a long way away. You have to enjoy the grind, build and try to make it as perfect as possible,” MacKinnon said. “But, you don’t want to just win one with this group with the talent we have, with the pieces we have. If we only got one, it would be tough.”

Or as Landeskog put it, “I didn’t grind my (butt) off for three years just to be part of a team. You try to win, and want to put another banner up in the building.”

It is not fair. But it is painfully honest. The Avs have set the bar for excellence in our state since 1995.

It’s why the heat is on Bednar. He has one of the league’s best rosters and one of the hardest jobs.

He needs to win. And with goalie certainty, the captain having zero limitations and Nichushkin facing no suspensions, he needs to win early. And in the postseason.

Not everyone thinks he can do it, despite guiding the Avs to eight consecutive playoff berths.

Fans were furious after the Game 7 collapse against Dallas. Bednar became more of a target than at any time since he was hired in 2016.

We all know he helped steer the franchise back on track, creating a standard. Those expectations will swallow him like they did Malone without playing in June.

As MacKinnon said, it would be a (darn) shame if this group only won one.

Everyone reveled in Jamal Murray’s playoff excellence en route to a championship. But Nuggets Nation suffered as Murray has dealt with one injury after another the past two seasons, bad luck and poor early-season conditioning conspiring to make him look old at the age of 28.

Now comes a chance for a reset. An opportunity to make critics — myself among them — swallow their tongues.

Friday, as co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer talked about the Nuggets’ upgraded roster, flashbacks interrupted the joy.

We’ve heard this before. The pieces are in place. Nikola Jokic is the best player on the planet. All that is needed is for Murray to operate at a season-long standard that meets the rest of our expectations.

Perhaps you heard: Murray will be the NBA’s 15th highest-paid player in 2025 at $46.3 million, the first year of a $207.8 million max contract extension. He is the only player among the top 26 to never make an All-Star Game.

Doesn’t this infuriate him? His contract has been called the worst in Colorado sports, non-Kris Bryant division. Doesn’t that disrespect fuel him?

Apparently, it does.

The Nuggets recently posted on Twitter pictures and video of Murray working out with the summer league team in Las Vegas. For a player who had a disjointed offseason last summer — Murray was recovering from multiple injuries while playing terribly for Team Canada in the Olympics — this represents a positive sign.

By itself, it was not a headline. This is: Word is Murray has also been playing in pick-up games in Las Vegas at the Wynn Casino, where the Toronto Raptors continued their tradition of setting up two regulation courts in a ballroom. These games feature heavy hitters, players capable of pushing Murray more than practices with future G-Leaguers.

This is the type of stuff that perks ears and widens eyes. The type of routine that suggests Murray wants to raise a finger after a championship, preferably the middle one.

This is what the Nuggets need: A motivated Murray, taking from his love of the UFC, from the glove tap to the final bell.

It is impossible to overstate his importance to a title run. He is the connective tissue that supports all the recent moves, binds them together.

Josh Kroenke acknowledged that the front office would push players to remember the sour ending in Oklahoma City, making it clear that attitude and effort were non-negotiable. Coach David Adelman challenged them to return ready for a competitive training camp designed to facilitate a fast launch.

“I think we can come back more ready to start the season. I would love for us to come back more ready to go,” Adelman said. “That’ll be the expectation, to come back in much better shape.”

He did not mention names. But if it were an ad lib, Murray would have filled in the blank. By all accounts, he has gotten the message.

Forget making an All-Star team. That has always been a mix of popularity and politics. The Nuggets need Murray to play like an All-Star. They no longer have the margin for error that existed in 2023, permitting him to ramp up his conditioning during the first few months.

If last season taught us anything, it’s this: Exerting so much energy to level up left Murray vulnerable to injuries and compromised in the playoffs. That version of Murray wins just enough to drive us crazy, making us yearn for the higher ceiling we witnessed during previous playoff runs.

Seeing Murray getting reps in practice in Las Vegas, hearing about him getting run in pickup games, suggests he is taking ownership and assuming the responsibility that comes with his contract.

Perhaps reminders from people he trusts helped. Or perhaps he looked in the mirror and recognized the truth. Jokic is the brains of the Nuggets, playing Peyton Manning-type chess on offense. Murray is the heart of the Nuggets.

Last year he showed up and played the first 20 games like he needed an angioplasty. If he arrives bought in, everything changes.

Teammates will feed off him. Including Jonas Valanciunas, a backup center the front office believes will report to the Nuggets and dazzle with his rebounding and passing. Including Cam Johnson, who learned to score off the dribble in Brooklyn and has the type of basketball IQ to maximize his time on the floor with Jokic. Including Bruce Brown, who is ready for a redux. And including Tim Hardaway Jr., who is already slobbering at all the open spot-up looks he will get in this offense.

If Murray sets the tone in training camp, as expected, then Adelman can focus on teaching his schemes to fast-learning veterans and not get bogged down in calisthenics and fundamentals.

The Nuggets wisely resisted the temptation to run it back with last season’s roster. They are better. But an existing player is more important than any new additions.

A mad Murray, instead of a maddening Murray, holds the key to another championship.