High stakes, opening night, and bold predictions

This is something that I like to start every year with because I think it's very important for Nuggets fans to kind of contextualize what can happen, what could happen if things go wrong, but also what could go happen if things go right and the way that things look and sort of the flow of things that happen.

I'm a... generally a pessimistic slash realistic person in a lot of ways.

And that has been construed as me trying to be a doomer on a lot of cases.

But ultimately, I feel like I've been proven valid and correct in a lot of different things throughout this time that I've been covering the nuggets.

And when I get into these stakes, when I talk about it through this prism, A lot of things I was talking about through the prism of last year is that if things don't work out, Denver's probably going to make a major change.

And they didn't, they actually, they kicked that can down the road a little bit and basically stated, okay, the real reason why we did not go as far as we needed to.

Yeah.

Timberwolves got our number a little bit.

We've got to get them back, but it was because Aaron Gordon was out.

It was because Peyton Watson was out.

It was because we suffered injuries.

We weren't whole.

We weren't the team that was like fully like if, if, if we're at our best from a health perspective, uh, then we still believe that we can beat anybody.

That's the message that the Nuggets are sharing.

And they might be right.

I don't think they're right.

But a lot of the numbers would say that when Aaron Gordon is out there, the team is really, really, really good.

And as a result of that, I have to at least give it some idea, give it some pause that like, okay, you know what? Maybe, maybe this is correct.

And maybe if the nuggets can get to the playoffs this upcoming season with a fully healthy roster or pretty close to it with their main guys, they should be good.

Now, Minnesota missed Anthony Edwards and the last Dante DiVincenzo to a torn Achilles.

And I had assumed we missed game six of that particular series.

And it didn't matter because Denver just wasn't able to do what they needed to do.

But like, I'll, I'll at least humor it.

I'll at least humor the idea that Denver needed to pass.

Like they didn't need to go full, like blow it up or, or change everything kind of mode, whether they wanted to or not.