The Denver Nuggets won their first game of the year on Monday night against the Toronto Raptors, but it wasn’t perfect.
Nikola Jokic was of course dominant, and Christian Braun continues to showcase his improvements as a scorer and slasher to be a helpful element of the Nuggets starting unit. Even Aaron Gordon got in on the action with a nice, well-rounded game.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets are still trying to figure out how to play a complete game. Jamal Murray made a big time shot but was inefficient for most of the evening. Michael Porter Jr. struggled defensively and shot just 1-of-4 from three, now his third game in a row of shooting 30% or lower from three-point range. The bench continues to struggle overall despite some improvements from two key players.
Still, a win is a win, no matter how ugly or difficult it was to come by.
On the latest episode of Pickaxe and Roll, Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets OT win over the Toronto Raptors. Nikola Jokic had his second 40-point game in a row. Jamal Murray hit a clutch layup despite struggling to score efficiently. The Nuggets won ugly, but they still won. Ryan breaks down the starting lineup, the bench minutes, and what he expects in the next matchup against the Brooklyn Nets tonight.
Pickaxe and Roll is a Nuggets podcast streamed live on YouTube every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10am MT. You can catch episodes live by subscribing to the Mile High Sports YouTube channel and turning on Bell Notifications.
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