This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.
Each month Mile High Sports Magazine sits down with an important figure in Colorado sports. For November, Aniello Piro spoke with Nuggets fourth-year guard Gary Harris. Here’s the best of what Harris had to say about this year’s team.
Gary Harris: This year is a different vibe. It’s very competitive. Everybody is locked in. We have a lot of expectations this year. We’re pushing each other.
This is excitement. We’ve been off damn near six months. For us to get back into the swing of things … it comes fast. We’re looking forward to it.
I had guys help me out, so [now] it’s my job to help the other guys out – help them establish themselves, help them figure out their niche in the league.
We have some big goals as a team this year and it’s going to take one through 17.
Denver is a city that loves sports, and you know they want to see sports teams that win. The Rockies did pretty good and the Broncos are [usually] good, so you know it’s up to us to hold down the basketball side. I feel like we can do that just because with the team that we have was winning towards the end of last year and Pepsi Center was rocking. The fans want come out and support us, so we’ve got to give them something good to see.
Our coaches are very defensive-minded coaches, and they push the players. [Head Coach Michael] Malone challenges us, [and so did my college coach Tom] Izzo. They do a good job of getting the best out of players.
I just love playing the game, and I’m just going out there each and every day just to get better. I mean, it’s fun.
Nikola [Jokic] has another year under his belt. I have another year under my belt. I feel like our confidence is growing each day, and we are looking forward to getting out there. We have a very talented team and it’s going to be a tough Western Conference, but we are ready for it.
You see what [Paul] Millsap puts on the table. He’s an All-Star, and that’s the dynamic that we haven’t had. It definitely is going to bring the experience that he has. He is a very selfless player. He does a good job getting everybody involved. He’s a defensive pillar that guys can lean on for defensive help, and he can score the ball. We are looking forward to running off of him and being able to gain from that experience. I mean, he’s everything that you could ask for in a player.
Emmanuel Mudiay has always been a hell of a player. He was the No. 7 pick in the draft. The talent is there, and he’s been balling. If you look at the end of last season, he was playing really well, so he picked up where he left off. You can tell he had a great summer and has come back with a lot of confidence. He’s off to a great start.
[Starting training camp in Boulder], we definitely felt a little winded. But we’ll definitely notice it when we get to go play at sea level. We’ll be able to get out and run and play fast like we want to.I’ve done the Manitou Incline a few times. It’s a great workout. It’s different and it definitely gets you in shape.
I don’t play [NBA] 2K, so I don’t know what my rating is. I’m a “Madden” guy. If you ask me about my Madden rating, that’s a different story. I play with the Titans, but I can play with anybody.