episode 3

Colorado Avalanche talk recap of the first round Denver Nuggets talk recap of round one so far  Denver Broncos talk recap of the draft

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Good morning and welcome to episode three. T Bow and Sports One Fan All Game. Welcome to Episode 3. This is Thursday, April 30th. So short little segment here. Con a couple little things to talk about here. The Colorado Avalanche able to sweep the LA Kings will be the first thing we talk about. The next one will be the Denver Nuggets. Somehow still in the playoffs after playing three terrible games and finally actually coming back with a game five. The third thing we will be doing is talking about the Denver Broncos and their draft recap and how they did in the draft and a few other big uh news stories out of the Broncos came out yesterday. So let's get the show started. Avalanche won four-game sweep over the LA Kings, which I think a lot of us thought that was gonna be the case, especially the way they played in game one, game two, game three. They were able to really keep the LA Kings in check. The LA Kings try to play their game, try to keep it close, but wound up getting beat fairly badly, like I think a lot of us thought would happen in games one, two, and three, but it was in game four when the ass finally showed up and really played their way of playing on the road and how they played all season at all season as a very dominant hockey team. And obviously, we saw that on full display on Sunday afternoon. And and you see some of the things, you know, you saw this the first goal go in and that kind of break the ice and and and that and you know the kings fought really, really hard in the beginning to try to keep it there and they, you know, big hits and and to keep this game close. But I think eventually they just, you know, once they were down, two goals to none. Uh and the second goal by Kale McCarr, which is one thing we're going to talk about here soon, which is unbelievable, you know, to put them down 2-0, you know, I think really put them on their heels, really took the wind out of their sails at that point, and they tried to come back. They did get the one goal to make it two to one in in the second period, and by the third period, it was pretty much all avs. So the second goal that got scored in the second period by by Kale McCarr was unreal. And and Kale's one of those players that is so so incredibly good that his hockey knowledge and his hockey mindset and his ability to play is is unreal and unmatched by most defensemen in in the NHL. And as I told him when I had the great fortune of meeting him when my son was able to do their chair, one of their charity events, where they walk down the runway and they meet the players and they spend the whole day with players, that he reminds me a lot of a mix between the forward, a wingman, of a Peter Forrestberg, and the defensive knowledge he has and the ability he has on the defensive side of hockey, of a Ray Bork and a you know, some of those young guys, and and even a Rob Blake that were on the Avs 01 when they when they won that when they won the cup the second time. He was able to stop the puck at the blue line from going out of the zone, bringing it back into the zone, and able to beat the defender so badly that the defender at one point tried to grab Kale and pull him down as he's making the shot on the goal, which obviously would have been a penalty, probably a penalty shot, if not also a two-minute penalty. But his ability to be to take two or three strokes with his skate and be that far ahead of the of the next player, or to be able to twist and move and and turn and do things and get away from get away from the defender and get away from the other player that's trying to get the puck away from him is unreal. And this one was he literally came out, stopped the puck, came up, got to the circle, spun around, and by then the defender's back was to KO, and and he kind of spun around and tried to grab Kale, and it was obviously way too late at that point. And KO was able to get the goal in, and that was huge. That I think, with that happening, the way he was able to beat the defender, the way he was able to read that play, stop the puck from going out of his own, and also able to make a goal and put it where he put it, just took the sail, took the wind out of the out of LA sails at that point. I think LLA really, really played back on their heels when they were able to get you know one goal and it make it two to one. You know, I think that that was huge. And then obviously they, you know, in the third period, the ads came out and they just started throwing everything and everything at the at the at the net and and you know, they obviously won five to two. It's just that one goal was such a big turning point in the game. It really, it I think it really took everything out of the Kings, and and you know, the Kings were were pretty much done at that point. I think they also going into this series, I think LA kind of knew this was gonna be a tough thing. The biggest thing you you we will watch, and especially at the end of the season, was there were three or four teams that didn't want to be that eighth seed. They didn't want to have to play the Avs because they knew and they saw how dominant the Aves are all season, and now here they are. LA was a first victim of the Aves. They went down four games, you know, went down in four games, which I think a lot of us figured would happen. This next round, this is the big round. This is the round that really can say and legitimately say, are the is this the Avs team we all wants to be during the regular season to be so dominant, to get 121 points, the most they've scored in their points they've had in their franchise since they came about in 1996? Are they the team to beat in all of the NHL and not just the Western Conference? Is winning the president's trophy, is this why they won it? Or is this gonna be another season where they get into the second round, they play the team that they always had struggled with. Either it's the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, are they gonna get knocked out by one of them? That's the crazy thing. That wild Minnesota game is is is going to have a six game. It's three to two now. The wild have the lead, but we know that Dallas is gonna come back tonight and try to tie that series up 3-3 and force a game seven, which I obviously think they can do. Dallas is a very, very good team. They have a lot of good players, they are a young team. They were able to really do some good moves last year at the trade deadline. This year they were able to do a few more. They're a tough team, and they're they're a thorn in the Aves because they really make they play the Aves so tough in the regular season, and even tougher when it comes to come to you know the playoffs. They they're the ones that knocked out the Avs last year in in seven games, and that's just that that was disheartened to the Aves, the the whole franchise. So they vowed to try to get the number one seed, have home ice all the way through. So that way, if there was a game seven, obviously it would be in Denver and not in Dallas. So we'll see who who's gonna win. I I don't mind either team to play, but I would rather not play the stars. I'd rather play the wild. I think the wild are a team that can not give the Av such a tough opponent in the second series, but give them enough a tough opponent in a way to make it a good series. We I don't think the second series is gonna be a four-game sweep. I think it's either gonna be a five or six-game series, again, depending on who they play. If they play the Minnesota Wild or the Dallas Stars, this is gonna be one of those series that I think is gonna go a little bit long way. But we really want this series as as fans and as and and as the Avalanche players really want this series to go seven games. Beat each other up, make it harder, give them not as many days to rest. Because we obviously know either the the second round is either gonna start Sunday or Monday of next week. Because obviously, if there is a game seven in the Nugget series, that's already scheduled for for Saturday. If Minnesota wins, obviously they'll they'll win the series. They'll have Friday and Saturday off, and then Sunday they they might play game one. I don't know if the NHL is gonna give give the wild three days rest, but they might, and again, coming off a six-game series, three days rest, having to travel and be at home or be on the road and then go on the road immediately afterwards is is always a tough thing. I think the second round is gonna be one of those rounds that I think can really determine if the Avs legitimately are the best team in the NHL to beat the other series, even between the the Utah Mammoth and the you know the LA or the the Golden Knights, that game is at that that series is at three to two. Both, you know, both are obviously tonight. Minnesota plays tonight in Edmonton and Anaheim. And again, that series is three to two. So you look at every other game in the West, especially in in the first round. Every game is obviously going six. The ads are the only ones that swept. So that's gonna be a, I think, a big telltale sign. All these other teams, the four other teams, are really beating each other up. The ads are the ones sitting at home, relaxing, resting, getting ready to see who they want to play, and and knowing who they're gonna play is is going to be a very tough opponent going into the second round. The second round is a whole new ballgame. The second round is first round's over. We know you know the teams that are gonna win the first round, we know they should have won the first round, they obviously should have, but sometimes there's gonna be you know that upset. So these these first these first round games between the other teams and the Western Conference are going a lot, like I think a lot of us, a lot of sports fans figured it would go. Both are gonna go seven, both are gonna go six, both could wind up going sixth all all the way to game seven, which gives the Avalanche that that little bit of that edge because they've had you know almost a whole week off now to where they're gonna play their their their their first game in the second round and really be able to have that rest, that ability, that heal, that healing time, that time to really be ready to go and still be focused and ready to go. Now it's obviously a lot, it's difficult because you don't know who you're gonna play. And so, you know, the you know, some teams, oh, you know, they just kind of take it easy. I don't see that with the abs. I do see the Aves really, really, really being ready to push and and to beat that team, whoever it's gonna be, either Dallas or Minnesota, they're not gonna look forward to to the Western Conference Finals because they still got to get through the second round to see who they face. So they're not really worried about the Anaheim and Ducks and Edmonton Whalers series. They're more worried about you know the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild. And again, they're not really paying attention to the Las Vegas Knights and Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth series. They're they're more worried about you know the Dallas Stars and Wild because that's their next round opponent. So we'll see. I do see the Aves probably winning the second series in five games at home. But again, it could be very well be a second series where it goes into six games. I don't see the series going seven. Unless they are playing the stars, then I see it being seven. If they are playing Minnesota, I can see the Aves dispatching and eliminating the Minnesota Wild in five games, maybe six, but we'll we'll see how that plays out. We'll find out after tonight who the Av's opponent is, or we might have to wait until Saturday, May 1st, to find out who the opponent is because that is when game seven is. Denver Nuggets. Oh boy. When as weirdly and sometimes poorly and horrible of late play during the regular season, the the Nuggets fan base here in Colorado just got used to, oh boy, here's another bad game. Oh, well, they had a good game. Oh, played another, and it was so teeter-totter back and forth that we knew going into the first round, even if they played you know the Houston Rockets or the Minnesota Timberwolves, even if they were three or four seed, they were gonna have a tough time in the first round. Yes, maybe playing Houston would have been a little bit easier, but you see how that even that series is going between them and LA. LA was up three games to none. They've lost games three and you know, five and six, now four and five now. Now that series is three to two, just like the at just like Denver and Minnesota is. So now all of a sudden, everybody's like, oh, Lakers are gonna sweep. They're gonna go on and and and face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept. And again, we obviously knew Oklahoma, the Thunder would sweep the first round. They're the best team in the Western Conference, and in my opinion, they're still the best team in the in the NBA to beat. The Eastern Conference has some teams there that can do it, but they're just such a weaker conference. They just don't have the players, the caliber, the depth. You really, really do see in the Western Conference, like you see with the Nuggets, like you see with the San Antonio Spurs, like you see with Oklahoma City, like you see with the with you know, even even the Lakers and their ability because they've been there. The the team that I'm still super worried about in the Western Conference are the San Antonio Spurs. Yeah, they wound up going five games with the Portland Trailblazers. That really showed I don't think the San Antonio team really has the stanoma to really play a longer series, depending on who they play. If they play Minnesota, yeah, that's obviously going to be a five-game series, maybe a four-game sweep. If they play the Denver Nuggets, that could be a five-game, six-game, seven-game series, because the Nuggets played them really, really well and pretty evenly in the regular season. The ad the Nuggets won game one, and and they just they played really well. They came out, they were fired up, they were ready to go, they kind of blew out, they won by 10, they kind of blew out Minnesota, they kind of you know made Minnesota, you know, got the first punch to the face, but I don't think it was that big of a one. Then they proceeded to lose games game two at home, lose game three at home, on in Minnesota, lose game four in in Minnesota, and go down three games to one. Okay, now we all know the Nuggets have been here before. The two times during the pandemic, during the series, when they were all playing in in Disney World in Orlando, two different times, they were down three games to one and wound up coming back forcing a game setting and winning uh winning that series. They've the only NBA team to do it twice. Hell, they were only the first NBA team to do it one time, let alone twice. Now, if they can force a game seven and win tonight, and win game six and force a game seven on Saturday, they will be the first NBA time NBA team in the NBA the history of the playoffs to do it three times. Do I see it? Maybe. They won game five, they were able to come home, they were really mad, they had, you know, there was a couple big fights, especially near the end of game four, that I think really put a fire under the nuggets. How when Minnesota players were talking how bad they were defensively and how they can beat them, and that didn't really light a fire. You know, that that really was there, you know. Obviously, date David Adelman got on him individually and as a team in the locker room, he, you know, and and the big thing here is why doesn't he do it publicly like Malone did? Because that's just not David Adelman's style. You know, his style is hey, this is our team. I'm gonna talk to my team about it. You're not on our team, you don't need to worry about what I say to the guys, only they do. They did force a game six tonight in Minnesota. I'm I'm still worried about how they're gonna play. Are they gonna come out like they did in game five? Are they gonna come out like they did in game one? Or are you gonna see them get a big lead in game game six like they did in game two, up 19 points, and blow it and wind up losing the series? We'll see. If they can force a game seven, it'll be on a Saturday, May, May 1st. Now, are we gonna see? Are we gonna see the Avalanche? Are we gonna see the Denver Nuggets have that same authority and that same mindset of the Avalanche? Hey, guess what? We're a team, we can do it, we can beat him, we can beat anybody we want at home. Obviously, the Nuggets have have already lost a game at home. They're two and one in this playoff. They would have to be three to one to four. They have to win tonight in game six. I just don't see it happening. I I really, really don't. This is a team that has struggled all regular season, struggled in the playoffs. You've seen it. Jokic is not the same, he's not able to make the shots he is, he's not able to carry, carry the team. You you you see the players are injured, and it's just it's so it's a different series, you know it's a different series, you know it's a different ball game. You know, when when Aaron Gordon is hurt and he's had this injury all season, he had this injury last season, you know, he's not most games, he's not playing 100%. He's playing 85, maybe 90%, maybe 75%, but he's still out there competing and really wanting to help this team win. But if he's not at 100%, he's obviously not able to give the team as all. And and I think at that point the team struggles. And and you see these, you you know, you see Murray, who has to help carry this team, you see Orton Gordon having to help carry this team, you see Jokic having to help carry this team when they have the depth on the bench to be able to do it. They have to come out tonight, be fired up, ready to go, and see what they can do. They've gotta be able to win tonight. They gotta be able to dominate like they did in game five, they gotta be able to dominate like they did in game one, they gotta have a dominating first half, first quarter, maybe second quarter, first half, like they did in game three or in game two. If you're up by 19, if you're up by double digits early in the game, nuggets don't fall apart. Keep pushing, don't gas yourself early. You know, keep going, pushing. Don't if you're down, don't try to take shots on the outside where you're not gonna be able to hit as many, or your chances of hitting those shots, your percentage goes down. Go in the paint, get the foul, get the easy points in the paint. Really make Minnesota come to you. Don't go to Minnesota. Let Minnesota you need to dictate the game. You need to be able to get Minnesota to come to you. Get Minnesota mad, get them to take penalty, get them to take you know, dumb fouls, get some technicals, really push this team to the brink to where you can really get in their head because they're they've been in your head the last three games, other than in game five, when you finally woke up, get in their head, get them ready to go, and be able to come out and beat them in game six, come back to Denver with a day's rest and beat them here in Denver. Take the altitude to your advantage, especially if you can force for game seven. But let's not get our hopes up. Folks, the Denver Nuggets are struggling, they have struggled. Let's see how they do between now and game seven, but let's see if they can do it. Well, on Thursday last week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the Denver Broncos finally made their first pick in the 2026 draft in the third round. They wound up trading back with Buffalo 266 overall, one of the first the second pick in the third round, because the tight ends that they wanted both went ahead of them. I don't know why the Denver Broncos didn't trade up, why they didn't try to go after the players they wanted. Now, in the long run, they wound up, they did wind up getting two tight ends, they wound up getting another running back, which is a big steal of the draft, which we will get into later. But they did trade down, they did get an extra pick, so I guess in a way that's you know helpful. But if you knew you wanted this tight end and you didn't go after him and you didn't trade up, I don't understand why you didn't do that. Now, with their third round pick, they did get offensive tackle Tyler Odon, which I think a lot of people, even the fan, were saying that you know that was that's what was gonna happen, that they were gonna go after a lineman if they couldn't go after a a a tight end or get who they wanted. So they got another defensive line. Now he's a big boy, he's listed as a defensive tackle, a defensive end. Some people even put him as a uh at an edge rusher, but at 292 pounds, that's a big boy to be an edge rusher. But, you know, some of his outside, yeah, he does have a good first move, but unfortunately, he doesn't have anything after that. I think in in the long run, he does fit, you know, the Broncos scheme on the defense, he does fit with with Vance Jovis' things, but Joe Fis Jophus, Vance Joe Joseph needs to be able to teach him to get him to a second move, get him to a third move, be able to beat that that lineman. Yes, he has some big arms. Yeah, he he's able to get some big he has big arms. He is able to to keep the defenders at bay and and um and the linemen, and he's able to shed the blocks, but he's got to be able to. Get get get past that first move he has, and he only really has the one. Then in the fourth round with pick 108, they got, I think, what a lot of people are saying, and a lot of analysts are saying, is the seal of the draft with the running back Jonah Coleman out of Washington. A good sized kid, you know, 5'8, 1-8, 220, 220 pounds. But here we are again, late in the draft, especially the fourth, not the fifth round. They picked another rookie running back like they did with like they did last year. Now, do you bring in another running back? Is it that you don't trust JK Dobbins to remain healthy all season? Who knows? But a good running back, he he's had some, you know, he he has good numbers. He he can he can kind of run on the outside and and be that big, you know, that big thing. In the also in the fourth round, with that extra pick they did get through through Buffalo, you know, Casey Cage Casey, a lineman, 310 pounds, five feet six inches, or six feet five inches. A big boy, another, another lineman to really make up and bulk up that lineman, that lineman room. That I think is a good pick. Obviously, we know they needed some linemen. And again, as I talked about in in the pre-draft, episode one, we knew this draft was tight end heavy. We knew this draft was running back heavy. We knew this draft was lineman heavy. So the line the the Broncos read a good lineman bring him in and let's see what he can do. Finally, in the fifth round, Justin Jolly to pick up their first tight end. Good. Okay, we got a tight end. Yeah, we got him late in the draft, but he's not one of the top tier linemen that obviously we saw going round one, going round two, and a little bit in round three. This kid's good enough. Let's see it. Is he a blocking tight end? Is he catching tight end? Is he a little bit of a hybrid of both? You know, can he play in Sean Payton's offense and let's see how he does. So, you know, North Carolina, not a big school. Yes, he's still from a power conference, but let's see how he does and and and where he can be. You know, and then in the the seventh round with their last, and obviously in the sixth round, they didn't have a pick. They got Miles Scott, you know, a safety. So now we have another, we added to that defensive room, we added to that position of safety, we added some more depth. He is good, he is 210 pounds, he is 5'11, so he is, you know, he is tall, so he'll be able to match up with the taller receivers, and we'll see how his defensive ability is. Does he fit in and Bance Joe Fus you know, defense? I think he does. Obviously, in the seventh round, they were able to pick up Dalton Bentley, another tight end. Okay, late in the seventh round. A player that's obviously we know isn't guaranteed to make the team. They picked up another tight end. Obviously, I liked him. He was still on the board when they picked, but their second to last pick in the four in the seventh round. For those of you that didn't really pay attention to the NFL draft, the Broncos had the last two picks of the NFL draft, and they had Mr. Irrelevant, and that's who they they picked up Red Mukback, Mukrock, a linebacker out of the University of Buffalo. Again, not a Power Five Conference, but a good-sized kid. You know, we'll we'll see how we'll see how the the Broncos do here. But a pretty good draft. If I'm gonna give them a grade, I'll say a solid B minus, maybe a solid C plus. Some big news that came out yesterday with the Broncos is Bonicks did go under second ankle surgery procedure. He said he will be ready for the offseason stuff, but it would probably be training camp, maybe in week one before he is ready. And Justin Simmons, one of the best safeties the Broncos had, and especially during their Super Bowl run and Super Bowl 50, and he has a tight uh ring with them. He officially retired yesterday as a Bronco. Hopefully, you enjoyed episode three T Bone Sports, one fan all game. We will be back in a few days to do episode four. Have a great day.