Two definite answers. Many questions remain.

Zion who?

Wu hoo!

Nuggets vs Suns: This one's for Jenna Marbles, America's modern sweetheart.

I figure that this season I'm just going to dedicate each game to a different person, in honor of Pat Bowlen.

Speaking of questions, this game should finally provide us with clarity on the question no one is asking: Which youngster is most likely to win rookie of the year, Ayton or Welsh? It was anyone's guess prior to the last game, in which Welsh played 5 seconds at the end of the first half. This will serve to obliterate his statistical bottom line.

When last these two teams squared off, Denver enjoyed double digit TPM performances from three players, led by Wilson Chandler +24, Barton +21 & Jokic +13. Two players were also in the red, led by Malik Beasley & Torrey Craig -2 and the Nuggets snapped what at the time was a seven game road losing streak with a 123-113 victory in Phoenix, on February 10th. That contest featured a dust-up between Will Barton and Troy Daniels which was made inevitable by some ill-advised comments made by Barton through the media, comparing Phoenix to a G-League squad. No professional will take that lying down so I give props to Daniels on that one. Unfortunately for the Suns, it had the adverse effect of causing Barton to play focused defensively for the first time ever. Phoenix on that night played without the P&R threat presented by Devin Booker and of course Deandre Ayton so this will be a far greater challenge for the Nuggets but they'll have the home airport advantage at least, a LEGIT advantage, to be sure.

The altitude advantage however, is vastly over-hyped, particularly when the elevation difference between Phoenix and Denver is negligible in scientific effectuality (the discrepancy of Phoenix and Flagstaff for example, a mere 123 miles apart, far exceeds that of Pho/Den) and nothing is said of the disadvantage the road presents in terms of time-zone changes, distance, time, early-morning arrival and mountain isolation but that's a topic for another time; December 1st 2012 to be exact.

It is important/fair to point out that Phoenix is uniquely taxed in the schedule making by the facts that a) they change time zones during the season resulting in their being the only Pacific Division team on MDT from November 4th to March 10th and b) they are the only non-West-coast team in their division and that Utah enjoys similar constraints to Denver, though you never hear about their "altitude advantage." The clear winners of the annual schedule lottery are of course the Lakers, Clippers, Nets and Knicks. I wonder if there is something, (I mean apart from the shortsightedness that is having two teams within the same division reside in the same city, who never have to travel to play one another and rarely have to travel out of their time zone for divisional games) in common with those four... er two cities? Perhaps they are the two biggest markets and generate the most money for the league? OT diatribe over.

As for this game, we should all be excited to get our first look at promising young big man Deandre Ayton and the young core of Phoenix. Booker is of course polarizing for his trash talk, his scoring prowess, his skill and conversely his advanced metrics (for what those are worth) but he is sans-doubt a problem for all opponents, offensively. They have skilled veteran Trevor Ariza providing lead-by-example grit to go with a solid all-around game; the most effective type of non-verbal leader IMHO. Also he will sneak into your locker room through a hidden door and cut your ass! The youngsters aren't going to heed the lead from the Mike Millers of the world as deeply as they will Indigo Montoya. The Suns can expect steady scoring contribution from Ty Warren, a promising young two way player (in the original sense of the phrase) in Josh Jackson and the lineup is rounded out by an odd mix of no-longer-viable and or declining veterans in Tyson Chandler/Isaiah Cannon/Ryan Anderson and a slew of young bucks with high ceilings/much to prove, as per all recent years in the valley of the sun annually. They'll eventually have the services of the always deadly bench threat (unless coached by Thibs) Jamal Crawford. Hopefully we'll get a look at CU's own George King (preferably in recycling time of a blowout victory for the good guys.) Many of their recent high draft picks have been shipped off ala Emanuel Mudiay in Denver so this is clearly a team building around the two definites: Ayton and Booker.

Denver played an ugly, sloppy game in their opener in LA, vs the suddenly defensive oriented Clippers, as most teams can expect to but emerged victorious on the road nonetheless. Their home opener vs a defensively diminutive, suspect Suns squad should do wonders for the Nuggets unsightly offense exhibited in the first game. Lets just hope this doesn't come at the cost of a resulting minimal defensive effort, as has been the tendency of this group in the past.

Prediction: Denver 119 - Phoenix -111 (a quick glance at Bright Side of the Sun reveals a similar prediction from writer Evan Sidery

Go Nuggets!

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If you are viewing the pre-game version of the TPM piece; and you enjoy Gonzo-basketball reporting, I invite you to please join me after the game where the same link will lead you to the post game version. In it, all of the disjointed/unsightly blanks below will be filled, complete with data/analysis and more snark than "Snarknado VI: Snakenado", which I'm told is about a pessimistic, albino, black mamba who emerges from micro-bursts to torment the people of Los Angeles with shady tweets.

There be monsters; shameless, personal plug alert! (by permission of Denver Stiffs): If you are in the market for clothing, featuring the four major Denver sports franchises as well as CU, please open this link in a new tab to see if there is anything you are interested in. You don't have to order from the link of course if you are in the Denver Metro area, as I'm more than happy to meet up with you (please refrain from bringing rotten tomatoes), drastically lowering the cost, as Poshmark takes a healthy cut as well as shipping & handling. Thanks in advance!

Unique, hard to find, one of a kind and custom gear of your favorite team

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And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Phoenix Suns Roster

Denver Nuggets Roster

Update: MPJ and I.T. are sleeping on Ice, awaiting intel as to when their services will be required. Rookie Jared Vanderbilt will have to wait to make his rookie debut until long after R.O.Y. candidate Thomas Welsh, as he recovers from an actual injury. As for Phoenix, only DeAndre Ayton has been reported to be questionable with a sore ankle though all signs point to his participation. George King appears to be in the G league so no dice on my earlier hope.

Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™

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TPM™ Game 2 PHO

Jamal Murray: +25

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: -7

Gary Harris: +16

Malik Beasley: +1

Torrey Craig: -1

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: N/A

Will Barton: +19

Juancho Hernangomez: -6

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Paul Millsap: +8

Trey Lyles: -4

Tyler Lydon: +0

Nikola Jokic: +57

Mason Plumlee: +4

Thomas Welsh: -2

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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs LAC

Jamal Murray: 2 games +31

Isaiah Thomas: 0 games +0

Monte Morris: 2 games +7

Gary Harris: 2 games +27

Malik Beasley: 2 games +5

Torrey Craig: 1 games -1

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: 0 games +0

Will Barton: 2 games +33

Juancho Hernangomez: 2 games -4

Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0

Jared Vanderbilt: 0 games +0

Paul Millsap: 2 games +15

Trey Lyles: 2 games +1

Tyler Lydon: 1 games +0

Nikola Jokic: 2 games +74

Mason Plumlee: 2 games +7

Thomas Welsh: 2 games -2

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Jamal Murray: +15.50

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +3.50

Gary Harris: +13.50

Malik Beasley:+2.50

Torrey Craig: -1.00

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: N/A

Will Barton: +16.50

Juancho Hernangomez:-2.00

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Paul Millsap: +7.50

Trey Lyles:+0.50

Tyler Lydon: +0.00

Nikola Jokic: +37.00

Mason Plumlee: +3.50

Thomas Welsh: -1.00

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 1:

*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak

Analysis:

Qtr2- Lyles looks awkward/tentative for some reason. The 2nd unit doesn't seem to have "it" tonight unfortunately, for the good guys. Marlowe is enjoying saying "Cane-in" far too much. PHO cuts it to eight at 9:45. Murray returns at this point. Nice follow up jam for Juancho. The bench squad has five turnovers already for the Nuggets which is obviously unacceptable. Jokic re-enters at 8:38. To their credit, PHO has weathered the storm and are down just five at 8:08, as the Nuggets starters begin filtering back in. The starting five are all in tact at 7:35 in fact, now with just a two point lead, having scored only six in the period. Booker is the first PHO player to reach double figures. Jokic is once again feeling it and playing aggressively which might be needed the rest of the way. Ayton acquires his third foul at 4:41 and Jokic may live at the FT line in this one. He's got 21 points already with 3:50 to play.

Denver is struggling to finish at the rim tonight. Torrey Craig checks in for his first action this season at 2:14. Barton checks out with three fouls and NOW is the time to sit Jokic to avoid the same fate coach Malone! He ignores me but within two possessions an assistant coach who was undoubtedly following along with my piece must have whispered in his ear. Jokic sits with under a minute to go. PHO fouls two times in a row prior to an inbound, resulting in two free points for Murray. Booker additionally earns a T for complaining about it, which Murray also sinks. He's the third Nugget to reach double digits in scoring. Almost without any fanfare, Denver's lead once again explodes to 16 in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Harris +10, Murray +14, Barton +15 & Jokic +37 as they lead 65-49 at the half.

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Halftime: Smoke break? Not this guy. I'll have earned two months free of nicotine on October 25th. DO NOT TEST ME NUGGETS!!! I'm open to suggestion as to productive ways to better utilize the halftime segment and it's corresponding time. There once was a man from Nantucket...

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Qtr3- 3D watch is officially underway as Big Honey sits at 23-7-6 in the opening moments of the 2nd half. Harris is now the 4th Nugget to reach double digits. The lead climbs to 20 at the 9:31 mark. Barton looks to have taken a blow to the solar plexus. He's writhing on the ground. Hastings mentions hearing him say that he'd heard something pop. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is not the first thing you'd like to hear with regard to that particular region of the male, human anatomy. As we return from the commercial break, he's being hauled off, spread eagle on a stretcher apparatus I've never seen before. It does not look good for The People's Champion. The lead is still 18 but the air has palpably left the building. After a brilliant, slow-mo, pirouette dunk by Jokic he's just two boards & two dimes shy of his 3D. If you are wondering where that ranks in terms of his fastest 3D, remember that he broke the NBA record last season for fastest in history with plenty of time remaining in the first half of a game.

'Sap is the fifth Nugget to reach double figures. Denver's lead is up to 25 with 5:50 to go. They now have 29 fast break points which would be more than at any point last season (again, pending the accuracy of Marlowe's earlier statement.) Ayton picked up his 4th foul somewhere around the Barton unpleasantness. Lyles re-enters and is still skittish. Jokic, 10-10 from the floor now, has an incredible +50 TPM already. IIRC, the single game high for anyone was again him, in four quarters of action, at I believe 53. He now has a 2D with 30-10-9. The intensity has been completely sapped from the game as PHO cuts it to 17 with 1:50 to go. Two straight threes for the Suns and it's now a 12 point lead with seconds to go and that's how the 3rd period comes to a close. Word from Vic Lombardi is that it's a Hip Injury for Barton which may mean an extended absence but I've got to think he is breathing a sigh of relief. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Harris +16, Murray +18, Barton +19 & Jokic +50 and lead 92-79 after three.

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Qtr4- We can likely expect some ugly play until the lead tightens up and the starters, sans-Barton, return to action. The bench unit has been simply dreadful in this game. Marlowe wanted so badly to say "Jackson grabbed Plumlee by the plums" just now, I could feel it. Denver's starters have outscored their bench 93-6! Millsap is getting royally jobbed by the refs right now, first on a blocked shot where he got some body WAY down below, then a phantom offensive foul followed by a T for sarcastically clapping at the VERY INCORRECT official who VERY INCORRECTLY slaps him with a T for it. Denver is in the bonus for the final 7:30 as Booker has entered full-on chuck-mode. M-V-P chants rain down on Jokic as he shoots a free through following another slow-mo drive. Jokic now has his 3D with 33-10-10 on 11-11 shooting and zero turnovers! How many times do we have to hear "the last person to accomplish this was Wilt tap-dancing Chamberlain" before the national media begins to take The Joker seriously? I mean seriously, why so, not-serious?

If I was Malone, I'd consider sitting him so that he doesn't miss a shot, ala the guy with the batting championship in hand ( D.J. LeMahieu comes to mind) who "rests" to seal the deal, late season. Oh ya, BTW the lead is 22 with 4:00 to go. SIT JOKIC NOW MALONE! The MVP chants are now growing louder as Jokic again shoots free throws. A full minute passes and Jokic is still in the game inexplicably, with a 24 point lead. Malone is not only doing a disservice to the Suns but to the Nuggets fans whom he is depriving of an opportunity to applaud Jokic on his effort and most importantly, to his own superstar Center. Jokic FINALLY sits with his semi-perfect game in tact, thankfully. Welsh once again checks in, this time with under three to play and Malone officially hates his players. Lydon checks in for recycling time minutes and this one is officially ova! Denver wins their home opener on another historical evening from Jokic but not without yet another devastating injury. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Harris +16, Barton +19, Murray +25 & with a new record in TPM Jokic +57, en route t a 119-91 victory.

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Final Thoughts: Have the Nuggets ever had a season in which they didn't lose a key, rotational player for a long period of time, within the first handful of games? If so, I can't recall when it last occurred. I wish a speedy recovery to The People's Champion. Also, how about Big Honey ( ™ Will Barton) NIKOLA JOKIC?!?!

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The Nuggets Win!

Denver Nuggets Suns vs Nuggets coverage Bright Side Of The Sun