FINAL CALL: Jokic, Murray, Nuggets PREPARED for Timberwolves in Game 1

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1:00Visit traveltexas.com and plan your trip today. Let's Texas. This is the 11th hour. The Denver Nuggets are set to start their journey for title number two. And Ryan Blackburn and Swipe, we're here to talk to you about what you should be looking for, what are our final thoughts, and is this going to be a legacy run for Jamal Murray and Nikola Yokic, the new age, Kobe and Shaq. There's a lot to get into. There's a lot to talk about. Y'all, this is Lockdown Nuggets, let's get to it. You are Lockdown Nuggets, your daily Denver Nuggets podcast. Part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. What's going on, y'all? Welcome to Lockdown Nuggets.

2:00This is your daily Denver Nuggets podcast and we are finally here, less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2026 NBA playoff for your 54 and 28 three seed Denver Nuggets. So we got some news on the Spencer Jones Peyton Watson front that we're going to get into here. And this is going to be a very fun episode y'all today's episode is brought to you by Fandall right now, new customer combat just $5 and get $250 in bonus bets. If you're hurt, that's when head to fandall.com to get started, y'all. It's playoff time. The playoffs are here and I cannot wait. We've been waiting all year. I'm talking about June when the signing got announced. I'm talking about training camp in August, tip off in October. The injuries in November, the Yoke is special the first 32 game, the Yoke is injury, mall

3:03going crazy in January, the comeback, the recension, all the stuff that happened from March to now, the 12 game win streak all of it comes down to this point where the Denver Nuggets have a great opportunity on their hand, Ryan Blackbird and man, what a way to start been playing versus the Minnesota Kimberwolves in round one. I mean, it really is a fitting way to begin things where the nuggets have to quell some of those demons a little bit. And you've heard it a little bit over the course of this week where there's nuggets fans or even David Adam any, yes, they'll talk about like it's a completely different series, completely different series. But the fact that they have to say that is they're still thinking about the other series. Everybody I think is still thinking about the other series that was playing in the previous one in 2024. So to me, there is still some residual pain there. There's still some residual, not trauma me because that's probably too far.

4:06But they've been asked about the series and that mostly why they've been talking about it. Yeah, no, they have been. I don't think they're not shying away from talking about it from the perspective of yeah, that was bad. That was how we do not remember that one fondly, obviously. But to me, there is a lot of intensity heading into this series. This is one where I think from minute one, game one, there'll be a lot of physicality. There'll be a lot of guys trying to prove what they can do. And it does feel like a rubber match between like two teams that have won a series of peace in the last couple of years. And now the third round and final round potentially is right upon us. Yeah, I'm actually really excited to see kind of what happens over the stretch of this game. And, you know, unfortunately, they're going to be wearing their white jerseys. You know, I can't stand those white jerseys. I've been very vocal about this and so that's obviously going to be the only bad thing. But man, you know what, in front of a dimmer Nuggets crowd, where they're going to take

5:09on a division foe, they're going to have Jamal Murray, Christian Brown, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nicola Yoke, it's there for tip off. And we haven't had that starting lineup a lot this year. And I believe the Nuggets, when HG played this year, I won't say they were 26 and 9. It was the final record overall when he played this season. Look, the Nuggets are still maybe going to be without Peyton Watson, the Spencer Jones. You know, we'll talk about here, that here in a little bit. But just in terms of confidence level, when they have them, those five on the floor, and they're healthy, and they know what the mission is, I think dimmer Nuggets fans got to feel really good about what's about to happen in the opportunity in front of them. Yeah, we went to the practice today and I got caught in a snow storm, unfortunately. I can't. It's I'm not getting coming down a heavy out there. It has been it's going to be interesting. The wolves could flew into town and immediately brought a blizzard, I guess. You know, it's pretty weird.

6:10But I mean, going there and listening to Cam Johnson talk about it, he was kind of going through that process too. And he talked about some of the clutch stuff with that and some of the the process that they had to go through and relearn just how to do this. And some some mistakes that they made in clutch early on in the season, some issues that they had to iron out, but now over the course of the the final 12 games of the regular season, really beyond that too, like post all star break, I would say a lot of the clutch stuff got better, a lot of the chemistry and the understanding of what you're supposed to do, how you're supposed to win got better. So this team knows how to win. They know what they're supposed to do, they know how they have to attack this team specifically. I think there's going to be a lot of a lot of stuff to go through throughout this series, but game one, you're going to get a quick start for it. You're going to get a very intense all for it. And let me ask you this at the tone, because I think you'll be good to answer this, because you know, you're obviously in the arena for basically every game.

7:11No shot to Ryan Blackburn, always doing this part, going to practices and going to games and every other event related to the different, I did not want to go today. I'm sure the weather was terrible, like it sounds like it. What do you think is the most important? So the first five minutes of the series, first five minutes in the first quarter, what do you think Denver has to do to establish momentum? And what do you want to see from them in the first five minutes, just to start? I, so I think offensively is where it really needs to start for them, because one of the things that Minnesota is kind of holding their hats on is saying, no, we can, like we've got one of the best offensive players in the world in Rudy Go Bear. We've got very talented physical wing defenders and Anthony Edwards and Jada McDaniels. Denver's got to break that coverage immediately. Just, just get to a place where whether it's with Yokech, whether it's with Murray, whether you're spraying out the shooters, whether you're getting cutters, open shot, open shot, open shot, open shot, and you just go through, you run it through the ringer and Minnesota's

8:12heck out their head spinning, like holy crap. How are we supposed to guard these guys when they're playing like this, when they're playing at this high of level, when they can generate no matter what coverage we throw, we're throwing like what our main stuff is at the beginning, our first plan. And they just rattle off 20 points in five minutes. Are you kidding me? That to me would set the tone for this one being like, okay, Minnesota, you have to adjust. You have to change what you're doing. And then on the other side, defensively, if you're Denver, like get the ball out of Anthony Edwards's hands immediately, rotate over. Hey, Yokech is actually jumping at the rim now. He's not necessarily just letting guys kind of fly by because it's regular season first quarter defense. It's now playoff first quarter defense, which is just a little step higher. But I do think that if Denver, if they can prevent second shot attempts, if they can prevent wide open threes, and if they're in a place where they can force a couple turnovers here or there, that really sets the tone on both ends of the floor. So getting out and running, getting the crowd into it immediately,

9:15you don't want to go full emotion. And actually, it's funny. Adelaide has been saying this a lot over the course of these last few days, play with preparation and don't use like energy and attitude and momentum and things like that to drive you the entire time because you'll burn yourself out and you'll make mistakes. So they're trying to be as prepared as possible. And if they are, if they're ready to hit the ground running, then should get off to a great start. Yeah, for me, Ryan, uh, everything for me is going to be intensity, intentionality, execution. One of the things that I care most about in basketball is like, are you getting to your spots? Are you trusting your teammates to do their job? And are you over helping the nuggets when they're at their best? They're doing their jobs to the best of their ability. They're ending possessions on the rebounding and getting rid of the off into rebounding. Yokeach, Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown in particular, every rebound is yours. No offensive rebound opportunities. That should be the motto. We end every possession. We make

10:15you shoot over the top of hands and contest and we end every possession. And then on the other end, Jamal, you've got to tap into this is literally a moment for you. Now, you know, I want to talk about Jamal further on the other side because you know, Jamal would never think like this. And the obviously he, if you brought this up to him, he wouldn't, you know, respond too well to it. But Jamal is like the ultimate swing piece. And I mean that in a more obvious sense than like, it's obviously he's all in B.A. But Jamal Murray having a good game one, I think puts everybody. I'm talking everybody on edge could just like, dude, you know, Jamal Murray has four threes in game one on 10 attempts. You know what I mean? He's gotten to the free toe line seven eight times. And he's got seven eight assist. If Jamal is able to package together that rim pressure that he's been great at this year, the free throws that he's been increasing over the last few months. And then on top of that, he's utilizing the best off the

11:16dribble three point weapon in the sport. You know, some people say Steph Curry, obviously Steph is Steph. I think that would change a lot because now Minnesota is like, okay, they're they're doing everything for Yoke, it's what it's like. But now Jamal is taking apart any crease that we give because we're overcorrecting to make sure Yoke has said to have a free opportunity in the middle of the paint. Ryan, I think that is going to be a big, big story for game one. I love it. I think it's important. I think that because when you got to deal with Yoke, the entire Minnesota game plan is around those two guys. And if Denver's two guys are still able to do whatever they want basically after a couple of adjustments, then you look around and you say, okay, now we got to send a third guy. Now we got to change coverages. Now we got to change defenders. Now we got to change personnel. And they're going to cycle through that the entire time, which is why they're going to try to hit Denver with as many punches and counter punches as possible, even within game one. I would not expect them to maintain the same defensive coverage from time out to time out. Like I really

12:18think they will try to vary things up as much as possible. But Denver as long as they are on top of it and Murray as long as he is on top of it, avoid the turnovers, get to your spots like you're saying, and trust the shots. Like there's no reason why he can't dominate game one and why the nuggets can't really set the tone in this series. Yeah. And the other side, I want to have some, I have some questions for Ryan as I always do because who doesn't want to talk to Ryan about basketball. And I think the audience is going to enjoy this as well. We'll be back for segment two here. Locked on nuggets. Workplace chaos, deadlines stacking up inbox overflowing. And the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure is on him, you need to write higher. This is a job for sponsor jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach to people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping the right candidates stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all in the minute I've been

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14:23to get in on the action. Now here's what I love about fan tool. You can bet just $5 and get 250 in bonus bet if your first bet wins. The app makes it easy to follow the action with player stats, trends, matchups, all in one place. It makes the entire playoff experience more engaging from start to finish. Now, head to fandool.com to get started. Fan tool, play your game. We'll be back for segment two here. Lockdown numbers. And we are back for segment two here of Lockdown, nugget shout out to you all here with Ryan Blackburn and Swipe a make sure y'all as you get used to all these great faces that you're seeing. Tap in with us on our everydayers club. Go to lock on nuggets dot supercars dot com. Join the discord. I said hello to everybody in the discord today. And I will be there during the playoffs. And this is going to be a fabulous fabulous plan. Just think y'all all the great content that Matt Moore just dropped in there today. Just talking about

15:25the offense versus the Minnesota timber world. And then we're going to be able to talk during games at times. And then after the nuggets get a great win, you could be in there with all of the other people that are a part of the locked on nuggets discord talking about all the great things you're seeing. Man, this is going to be incredible. We also got a couple of everydayer all access exclusive pieces of content, including the Q&A that I like to do every single week that we do throughout the playoffs as well. You can ask me questions in there. And I'll answer them live on a show. And then Matt did a offensive scouting report piece of a podcast that he was able to record and then put out just for every day or all access folks. So make sure to check it out. Again, lock on nuggets dot supercars dot com. You will not regret it. It's an amazing platform. Absolutely. All right. So Rob, can you give us a little bit of insight on the Pete and Watson Spencer Jones situation? Yeah. So I've got the exact wording from David Adelman here says,

16:31quote, Spence is a better chance than paid Spencer Jones, Peyton Watson to play at this point. But both guys are up in the air tomorrow being an early game sucks to be honest. It doesn't give you a whole day to get through their paces. But I really hope that Spence will play. And obviously, if paid has a good morning, that'll be great. Neither's a lock Spencer Jones is closer than Peyton Watson. Early tip definitely hurts. But it does sound like the nuggets are a little bit more optimistic about Spencer Jones. We heard on yesterday's show and heard about like for with Adam Mars and with the den ventures that you should also go check out for sure that Peyton Watson, Adam Mars doesn't expect them until game or round two. Not even to play in the first round. And that's that would be debilitating for Denver. But that's what happens when you kind of re aggravate a hamstring strain. So Denver's got to be cautious there. And if they do think that they could get through this series without Peyton Watson out there. And then you could be really

17:31useful in future rounds, you probably don't want to rush it. You probably don't want to put him into a position where he's hurting himself long term for the sake of the short term, especially ahead of a contract here. How important is it for you that the nuggets start the series 2.0? It's very important actually. I was talking about this with Jeff Morton last night. Denver, like game two to me is the most important game. It's not even game one because if you're Denver, you've had opportunities before where okay, you've won game one, you've lost game one, game two is where it really is telling because game two against this wolf's team a couple of years ago. That was a debilitating one. Rudy Gobert missed the game for the birth of his child. And the nuggets got thrashed. They got absolutely demolished in that game. It was embarrassing. So I think that Denver, regardless of what happens in game one, I think that they will start off, and I think they will get a win. It all goes out the window if you give up home court advantage in game two anyway. So I think that if Denver can start this series by protecting their

18:34own home court puts all the pressure back on Minnesota, all of it. And Denver just hasn't been in a situation against this Minnesota team where they've been able to do that before. Yeah, I don't think people remember Ryan that in that game, Yokech was five of 13, but it was like that swarming crazy defense in game two. You're talking about 24. Jamal was three of 18 in that game. He was, I mean, he threw the heat pack in that game. Yeah, that was the heat pack game. Yeah, like he was absolutely completely and utterly flustered and frustrated in that game by everything that Minnesota was doing. He was, it was a Mark Davis game. So like that probably contributed to it. But like, it's, it can't happen again. This is, this is a situation where if you're Denver, you have to keep control of everything. You have to be under control and like very cautious about how this is going to go. I have a little tidbit for you, right? And I would love to use your brain here, okay? Not that I did before. So one thing I went back and looked through and this was more for me,

19:37just a point of what have they looked like versus elite competition this year? And so versus like the top 10 teams. Yeah. So the nuggets have a very good record versus top 10 teams, especially given the injuries and stuff that they've had for the most part, right? That's the first thing. But you know, something else that I noted was that not only that, but the nuggets actually in terms of performance, did it get blown out by great teams either? Most of them came down the knockout on dragouts. Now, if you remember the OKC game number one, that was the OKC second game back from injury. They got Toronto. It was close in the first quarter, but then the game just got away from them. That was when Peyton was at 29 points. Yokech and Murray then score a lot, right? There was that one. Game two versus OKC went down to the wire. Game three versus OKC, down to the wire, game four versus OKC, we throw that one away. Minnesota this year, even in the loss they had, it was a game. They were winning in the first quarter, but then the game got away from them in a second, and then they weren't able to get the momentum back and get enough stuff, but it was a close game.

20:38But they won the first three, obviously, and actually beat Minnesota by double digits in the first two of those. Yeah. And then if you look at the Houston Rockets games, they got blown out to the Rockets, but if you remember, I don't know if that was on the second night of a back-to-back or not, but I want to say they shot like 16% from like three or something in that game. They had another game like that versus the Nix. Remember, second night of a back-to-back when everybody was back healthy, right? And they got, they were down like 30 in the third quarter, and they were like two of 19 from three. There's something crazy. And so what I noticed was, I'm like, you know what? I think one of the biggest differences in this year's playoff Ryan could be because in nugget have a different kind of team. And because they have more depth than they've had recently, the game two, game six, probability of those things happening again, I think are a lot lower in previous years. This could be more similar to 2023 where all of their losses were by single digits. That if they lost, they lost in the clutch because you can't win all of those games, but they have enough offense and enough firepower that they can really realistic stay in every game

21:41through to four quarter. And I feel like that's something that's going to aid them again in this series. Yeah. The other piece of that though is that they're defense. If it does not have the war that you're looking for and Denver's offense is just okay. Yeah. In some of these games, that's a way for Denver to kind of lose the thread in some of these matchups. And I think that will happen at times because Denver, like, yeah, I do think the defense will improve in the playoffs. I do think that they're going to get a little bit more consistent, a little bit more engaged and focused. But if they like they'll they'll go through these lulls, they will still go through that. It's not going to be a situation where they're going to play like they're not going 16 and four, like they did in 2023 where they're locked in pretty much every single time. And even in that one, like came two against Miami at home, they just were not locked in at all for that finals game. So it is one of those things where yeah, they'll lose a little bit of focus at times. They'll be pretty consistent at others. But to your point about the top 10 teams, I just looked this up on

22:46clean in the glass. First of teams with a top 10 point differential Detroit is first in point differential San Antonio second. Okay. These third and Denver's right behind them at fourth. Yep. Now, you know, who's right behind them is Minnesota like they're they're pretty good as well. They've had some success whether it's against San Antonio or okay, see or any of these these top level teams, Minnesota can rise to the occasion as well. So it's not just Denver that can do it. Yeah. And the nuggets just have to be more consistent than that against this Minnesota team. Yeah, look on the other side. I think that this run I did a little bit of you want it last night on my channel about about Yochich. I think this run could be defining not just for Yochich, but for Jamal Murray and some really, really specific ways. I can't with talking about that on the other side right here. I locked on nuggets. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where did all my money? It's time you're always makes me rethink what's in my closet. I'm trying to keep fewer things,

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25:59We'll be back for the final segment here. Have locked on nuggets. And we're back for the final segment here at a locked on nuggets shout out to you all. Thank you all so much for joining us each and every day. By the way, I am not kidding y'all. I haven't, I have a online phone right now. I got New York Times. They have a special going on right now for $1 a month. But by the time it gets to a full year, it's going to increase to like $24. I have my date set for when it the day is supposed to go up. I am canceling that subscription. They do that in rocket money. I'm not kidding. They do. Prep you for when those subscriptions roll over. So I swear by the service. It is amazing. Yeah, I can't wait. Rocket money. I don't know why. Call me. Trust me. I will help you. I will help you market. Ryan, let's just be real about this, man. I think if Jamal Murray is able to go through Minnesota with their great defense. Maybe this purse with their great defense. Go through OKC with their all-time best-ever defense.

27:05And then whatever with the Celtics, I'm not, I am not kidding you. The two best runs I've ever seen that I went through yesterday on my channel was the Akim, the dream of Lajuan Houston Rockets in 1995. They beat Portland. They beat the suns. They didn't beat Utah. They beat the spurred. Like they, they went crazy. Like they went crazy over the course of the run. And then they beat Shaquille O'Neal in the NBA finals very good. And then in 2011, you had, they didn't play Portland. Portland was 2011 in the first round. And that Portland team would really go. I think they won 59 games at the average weight against. And then they swept the Lakers who just came off a championship. And then they went in the next round, played versus a baby dinosaur, OKC Thunder. Got them out of there. And then they played versus Miami Heat Duane Wade and LeBron and had LeBron average in 16 points a game last four games of the series. And dark, by the way, you would talk about some scoring numbers. Go look at dark scoring numbers

28:06over the course of that run. Go look at Akim's numbers. 31 points in 11 rebounds with four stocks again. I'm telling you, I looked through this. And I'm like, if there was ever a year where two players were geared and ready at best player in the world and all in the BAC season to take this challenge on, there's not two players I would want more than Jamal Maureen, Niko Yokechi. They're in a good place. That was actually something that even David Adam mentioned earlier today. Here's the direct quote. Their mental is just really good right now. They're in a really good headspace. Does that lead to wins? I don't know. But they're very enjoyable to be around daily. They're so excited to be here to prepare. This is a group. And those are two players that know what the stakes are, that know what the process looks like, that have been through successful and unsuccessful playoff runs. They know what the difference is. They know how to prepare themselves. And they know what the

29:07what the burden is going to look like. They know how how important it is to get done with a series early. And so I do think that if there's a couple of guys that you can trust this time around, I do think that a healthy Niko Yokechi and a healthy Jamal Maureen are pretty close to the top of the list in terms of a playoff caliber group. You mentioned new era Kobe and Shaq. And it's just so true. They are so very close to who those guys are in terms of mentality, process, dominance, the ability to take on and share the burden for each other and take on certain responsibilities. But they're new era in that they have so much more synergy than those guys did. And so much more not just belief in each other, but like willingness to help the other succeed at all times. And that's going to go a long way. Now Denver, do they have the mix around them this time around in order to do it? I think so. I think they do. But it's going to be a process.

30:11They're going to have to grow when all these guys are going to have to have moments along the way in order to help create those legacies. Because in these processes, it's not just Kobe and Shaq. It's not just Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippin. It's not just LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Yeah. It's everybody around them. It's a team effort. And then you get to create these awesome legacies through the work of other people so that they can help help celebrate guys like Okitcha Murray at the end of the day. Who do you think outside of Aaron Gordon? Who is the defining player? Starting the playoffs, things you're about to get started. And when you think we look at the end of this run, who will be the other defining player that really changed the fortunes of Denver that made the big plays that got the big stops that made the swings that changed games? I think it's Cam Johnson. I think, and that's not necessarily one that you would expect. Or maybe it is. Maybe that's why they traded for. Maybe that's why they tried to put them into a position as a smart high IQ versatile wing who could do a lot of different things, who could

31:14wear a lot of different hats. Christian Brown's another candidate here. Like he's obviously, you got to shoot. You got to take those shots. You have to be able to stop guys. You have to be able to laser in on those aspects. It's a more narrow focus than what Yokeach and Murray are going to have to do, what Aaron Gordon's going to have to do personally. But I do think that between Christian Brown and Cam Johnson, the nuggets should feel good that those guys can have moments. It's not going to be consistent all the time, but they should be able to have moments that really swing a series. Yeah, I am all the way with you on that because when I think about what happens with Cam and the player that he is and the way he's been shooting lately, how connected he is as a passer, he honestly has made some really good defensive plays lately too. I think people would just haven't been as caught up on that in because you know, the shooting 53% from two and 46% from three and 83 from the line for a 45 against apples. I just like, that's crazy. You never

32:16mean that's pretty good. But Cam versus Houston, I mean, I went back and watched it bro. Cam had some crazy trail plays on some screens on Jabari Smith, Jr., where he was getting blocks from behind. He had a play versus OKC where he met somebody at the rim and blocked him at the rim, ran to some true tradition, run out. I want this to be the Nuggets are running their two man game, Ryan. And bro, it's like, OK, we pack the paint. All right, we're catching the roll. All right, Jamal, you know what I mean? We're sending two over. And then it's like, oh, short roll, short roll, or Jamal Murray died. You collapse and all of a sudden, Cam was sitting there with six feet of space. And it happens. It feels like every game. Wow. And one of the things that changed things for me with Cam was the OKC shot that he missed in the second time they played him. Cam had the game one with six seconds left where they could have beat OKC. And Cam just simply missed

33:17a wide open three that Jamal Murray created for him. Yeah. But we've seen since that point, the Laker game, some other games that have happened when Cam has been in that spot, the Portland Trailblazers game. Yeah, he's been like stepping up his moments. And if you can get a PJ Washington level of like shooting efficiency from him, man, bro, like Tim Hardaway Jr. is an obvious one, especially like the third quarter run, like the in the four quarter run at the end of the third, top of the four, that's going to be his moment. But because he's going to be on the floor so much, I think that Cam has opportunity to be like, bro, there's no way we're gonna trade Cam Johnson, like that kind of a swing. There's a lot of talk in the comments. There's a lot of criticism of Cam Johnson and his ability to kind of match up with Jada McDaniels. I'm just going to tell you guys right now, if Cam Johnson averages 15 and night and Jada McDaniels averages 15 and night, Denver's going to win the series. Like it's if they cancel each other out

34:18and just just are in that situation where neither guy can really impact each other or they impact each other enough that it's kind of to a draw. Like Denver's going to be fine with that because you just have to trust Yoke and Murray beyond that because like Minnesota at that point, they were lying heavily on Anthony Edwards. They were lying heavily on Julius Randall. Beyond that, like Jada McDaniels to me is one of those swing guys that if if Cam Johnson can provide at least a little bit of an impact on him. And like it's not crazy to think that either. Like he's six, eight. He's smart as hell. He is like long enough and athletic enough to be able to handle it. I do think that he'll be able to disrupt Jaden in some ways. It's not going to be perfect, but like that's going to be a swing factor. That's going to be an absolute X factor in this series throughout all these matchups. Just imagine the podcast with Cam after like a game winner. Like oh yeah. Young man in the three. And it's just like he gets on his mic just to talk about like, oh yeah, you know, the plays just happened to you. You know, you've got to stay consistent. You've

35:21got to lock into your technique, you know. Yeah, they drew up the play. It was for Yokech, but they over helped on him. And I just came around the curl and all those wide open. So you just go through those processes. You just go through the, you put in the work and you trust the work that you put in. I think Bruce Brown is another sneaky one too because Bruce does so many things on the team. So it's going to be interesting to see like where he all lines up at and like some of those trees and some of those, even just some of those, those floaters that he's going to have an opportunity to hit. And especially when Minnesota goes small and they don't have rooting the game, his ability to drive to the basket is going to be important. Him working in transition, going to be important. You know, I said yesterday, you know, the Adam and I, you know, I wasn't talking about like, I so deep of a Christian Brown, but like I do think there's a world for Christian two, where it's like, you put just enough pressure on the ball at times in the series, and it was just like, you can't get a, you know, I mean, like they can't even run a screen properly because Christian is just not quitting. He's not dying. Those moments from him, I think are going to matter a lot in this series as well. The other thing is that if they do end up getting stops with

36:25Christian, his transition game should be really, really helpful in these moments. Minnesota is not a great defensive transition team. And they strike me as a group that's going to get a little bit frustrated if they miss some shots, and then they miss some some defensive transition assignments. So Yokech is so good at hitting those hit-a-head passes that obviously that's going to be scouted to a Bolivian. And like they're, they're going to do what they can in those situations to avoid that. But Christian, I do think can make an, like you can absolutely get three transition buckets, set a screen and dive and get an and one in in a situation in the half-quarter, then hit a couple of threes. And all of a sudden, you're up to like 17 points. Like it's, it's very quick. If he's able to also get some of those transition buckets out there. So I'm looking forward to him because he's, he has an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong. There's been a lot of negative discussion about Christian Brown overall, especially with the lack of three-point shooting that he's had so far this season. And coming off of that injury has clearly affected him on both ends of

37:26the floor. So you get a little bit of, uh, get a little bit of waiting time, a little bit of rest time and a lot of prep time. I think he's, I think he's in line for a pretty good jump here. Ryan, you know, you're a little superstitious. Not creating superstitious, right? But you're, you know, a little bit of a little stitious, a little bit of a bobsman. Okay. Before, before we go, I just want to know real quick. Does this mean anything to you? Oh my god. Of course it means everything to me. It means everything. Like how could you not? How could it not mean? This is a relaxed yoke. This is what we're getting right now. Like, uh, just about his business feels good physically. It's, it's mentally we're in a good place. Emotionally, as you and Matt always talk about, do you feel like this is a good, good look from Yoke. For, for what it's worth for the audio listeners here, Nicole Yoke, is in the nuggets training room, the weight room. And he's got to do rag on and Peyton Watson has taken this picture of this and put it on his Instagram story. Uh, the vibes are immaculate. Like you, you want to, you want to strike the,

38:29this is a perfect shot because he's in, he's working out like he's clearly in the process of helping get himself better. But he's also kind of enjoying the process and everybody's having a, a little moment of levity with it. So this is the exact kind of thing you want to see coming up before a game one. Like he's clearly serious enough, but not so serious. Like I think this is, this is a good place for Yoke to be brother Peyton. I want you to get healthy. Can I want you to have a series, bro? Like this is, this is a Peyton Watten series. Like I, this is all of linked athleticism, shooting, defense, shot blocking. This is quite literally a Peyton Watten series. And I hope that we get it, bro. I really do, man. But Ryan, thanks for joining me today. This has been a great episode, y'all. Make sure y'all like, share and subscribe on the YouTube side. We're almost at 12,000 subscribers. Make sure that if you're listening to this on Appalachians, it's bottom five. You give us a five star of you and say, oh, who's that person from 107.5104.3? That's why for is that Brian? Is that Matt? Yes, it is. Make sure you tap in. Make sure you like

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