Which team is more concerning? The Colorado Avalanche or the Denver Nuggets? | Coffee Break podcast

Which team is more concerning? The Colorado Avalanche or the Denver Nuggets? | Coffee Break podcast

[Applause] [Applause] Welcome to coffee break with Rachel vill taking a daily look at the biggest stories in Denver Sports and interacting live with you the coffee break fam so sit back relax grab a cup of Joe and enjoy your coffee break here’s your host Rachel vill happy Friday everybody

Excited to get into the show today because do people need to be more concerned with the Colorado Avalanche after they come off to a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightnings or with the Nuggets going into the All-Star break with a three games get plenty to get into as we

Welcomeing Jake Shapiro to the show wo Jake good morning how are you I’m good uh I’m doing a lot better than the Colorado Avalanche right now oh boy okay so let’s get into this who do people need to be more concerned about is it the Avalanche or is it the Nuggets

Because for me I’m definitely rolling with the guys on the skates it’s a little concerning at the point where bednar’s saying soft and lack of effort in his postgame press conference and it just feels like they’re missing something and I just don’t know if that’s Gabriel landeskog is it nushin

What’s the missing piece for this Colorado Avalanche and or do you even agree do people need to be more concerned about the Nuggets yeah on top of the things that I think we all know with the ABS which is they clearly need a second line Center they need another

Top six forward which could be Gabriel Landis Cog in the playoffs and hopefully is Val nushin once he is able to come back I don’t think the Avalanche have a goalie capable of winning them a Stanley Cup I don’t think Alexander gorgiev is the guy um so or at the very least if

Alexander gorv is the guy they need a strong enough backup to come in and win them a game or two or a series we saw this a couple years ago with franos and keer right like you need two goalies to get through the Stanley Cup Playoffs because you don’t know what’s going to

Happen and and sometimes you know your goalie has just a bad stretch of two or three games and needs a rest and you need someone else to come in there we saw usus Anon in last night he he he got his third game in the NHL uh this season

He was fine yeah he let up four goals it wasn’t spectacular um but I think the ABS are a team that need so many different things to help them out whereas with the Nuggets if they just play the Five Guys you know they’re gonna win like it’s it’s pretty easy

With the Nuggets to know why they’re going to win and whereas you know the Avalanche you look around and not only do they not of the pieces you’re starting to question or the coach is starting to question the mentality and the mental fortitude of some of their

Players and they just got three points three total points on a six-game road trip so I think they’re in some dire ways right now Rachel okay so let me play like Devil’s Advocate when it comes to the Nuggets then because yeah if the starting five are out there that’s great

But what happens if Jamal’s injury continues on and is keeps bugging him or kyp is not able to be out there well does that make us a little bit more concerned with who they have on the bench for the Nuggets yeah if the Nuggets don’t have Jamaal Murray they’re

Not winning anything but if the Avalanche don’t have kale Mar they’re not winning anything so it’s it’s a moot point um player on the team right like that that’s how it is uh the thing is with the Nuggets especially in the playoffs we saw this last year Nicole

Yic and Jamaal Murray are gonna be playing 42 minutes a game Aaron Gordon and canius Kell Pope are gonna be playing 38 to 40 minutes a game Michael Porter Jr if he’s playing well is goingon to play 40 if he’s playing poorly he’s probably gonna play 34 and

Then you have three other guys that are going to contribute maybe one’s going to play 25 30 minutes the other two are going to play five to 10 minutes so the Nuggets can get away with the fact that they are not as I don’t want to say deep

Even but because their talent just is younger than last year they’re just not as capable right now as they were last year on their bench and their bench sucked last year so even though the Nuggets maybe not be they’re not not as deep as last year I’m not really

Concerned with it because those aren’t the issues really the biggest nuggets issue will come if they get into foul trouble in their front court with Nicole Y and Aaron Gordon because you don’t want to see what’s behind those two guys playing Center like it might be Michael

Porter Jr playing center with a small ball lineup if the Nuggets get into foul trouble whereas with the Avalanche you don’t have the if this goes wrong or what if this goes wrong it’s already going wrong yeah already see it going wrong and we say Rachel while they’re 12 points clear of a

Playoff spot like they’re making the playoffs that’s not the issue we’re talking about championships here in Colorado it’s funny because even on Denver Sports Daily today I was talking about the ABS and the struggles that they’re having and all of these things and I was like they’re clear right now

With the playoffs but man it just really feels like everything is falling apart when it you don’t need it to fall apart right like you come off the allstar break you’re hoping to be you know back a little bit more healthy and everybody’s feeling good then they go on

This two week long road trip like you mentioned they get three points seems like everything is starting to fall apart and there’s still a lot of games to be played Jake not that I don’t think that they’re going to make the playoffs but it’s like at a certain point you

Have to be able to figure it out because a first round exit is considered a failure truthfully anything until you get to you know the last two rounds of the playoffs should be considered a failure for this team and it doesn’t feel like they can advance past the

First round right now yeah and I think a big thing happened last night in the standings Dallas uh won again so they’re three points ahead of the aves um and the AVS are only I think one point up on Winnipeg and they’ve got four games at hand so virtually Winnipeg actually has

Passed you at this point yeah it hasn’t happened yet but it’s about to happen seven of your next 10 games are at home Colorado Avalanche you have to make a run now you have to Hope Val nushin comes back and produces you have to hope Nathan McKinnon somehow gets even better

From his MVP level that he’s been at and last night by the way he almost got hurt it looked very scary for a second got dude his nose was so bad I was like I can’t hockey players are built different the fact that he went back out there

With a like swollen nose I’m like is it broken and you’re just playing through the pain I was so stressed out for him yep and that’s how hockey is uh and it’s only going to continue to get worse and Rachel this is the thing that I’m honestly concerned about with both these

Teams last year we saw the ABS have to make a real big push run towards the playoffs just to get their seating right last year we saw the Nuggets don’t have to do anything anything they basically rested their way into the postseason because they had the ability to because

They were up so many games two years ago we saw the Avalanche rest their way into the postseason the last couple weeks into the postseason because it didn’t really matter they had figured it out both the Avalanche and the nuggets are now into playoff battles they are going

To be fighting their final 25 games of the season they are going to have to try both of these teams are going to be not rested going into the postseason unlike the years they won their titles so I think that’s a factor that’s going to get overlooked and it’s going to lead to

Whether we know them or not whether we know Nathan McKinnon actually broke his nose or artari leinen or k Casey P sprayed his ankle or whatever it is whether we know the injuries or not it’s going to lead to injuries so that’s the difference between where these teams

Were at their Peak and where they’re at right now is that they’re actually going to have to give it their all to work on their seatings in the ABS case they need to find a way to get first round uh home ICE Advantage so they’re going to need

To hold off Winnipeg in the Nuggets case they’ve got three Elite teams in the west now besides that Minnesota Oklahoma City and uh and uh LA are all very very good like like you know I was striding on the show last year Rachel over and

Over the nuggets are gonna win a title I don’t care these teams don’t aren’t good there there are three other teams in the west just as good as the Nuggets this year yeah the Clippers have like sneakily built this super team then of course you’ve got Minnesota like there

Is a bunch of good talent in the west it’s going to be a lot of a tougher you know streak for the Nuggets to keep it going but Jake I still feel if I have to pick one of these teams that I’m put my money on I’m still going with the

Nuggets over the Avalanche to win it but the question is is which team needs home CT or ice more right like we’ve seen both of these teams struggle on the road so who really needs it more yeah it’s a great question Rachel because I would tend to think in basketball you need it

More just because the percentages show that in basketball home court home ICE has a higher percentage of panning out for that home team it matters more according to the data but we’re not looking at League Trends we’re looking at individual team data so let’s go off recent

Memory the ABS in their title run in the playoffs lost one road game it was insane the nuggets in their title run lost three Road games and they only which was also unbelievable only losing three they go 16 and four it was unbelievable I tend to believe home

Court advantage is a little bit more important for the Nuggets because there’s something about that altitude that affects the guys the last eight minutes down the stretch of an NBA game combined with the fact that the Nuggets Go full Blitz in the last five minutes

Of the game uh and it just kind of turns into an avalanche pardon the pun of factors that work out well for the Nuggets where they just close out teams Rachel the nuggets are the fifth best team in the clutch this year in the NBA still by net rating they’ve the number

One defense in clutch time in the NBA so I think them having homecourt advantage and the ability to just smother teams down the stretch is a little bit more important than in hockey where you know I I honestly don’t think it matters that much between Road and home it looks the

Same and and it’s funny because hockey’s actually the only sport where there are actual built-in advantages for the home team you know and I’m talking like baseball you get the bottom half of the inning so that’s kind of an advantage hockey you have the last change of the

Lines and you have uh you’re allowed to take running starts at the face off so there are like actual advantages to playing home games in hockey according to the rules but I don’t think it matters as much as long as you’re playing your game whereas basketball the momentum the whistle all these things

Kind of get to you and honestly the biggest factor that separates good teams from great teams in in basketball is can your role player go on the road and have great games last year Bruce Brown Christian Brown did it in the finals we saw throughout the course of the

Playoffs guys stepping up we haven’t seen that this year on the road with the Nuggets it’s been Nicole yic and sometimes Jamal Murray and sometimes mpj and then there have very rarely been performances from other guys so I think home court advantage is a little bit more important for the Nuggets this year

So it’s funny that you you say this and you do a great job because you make me double think what I’m thinking I’m sitting here thinking it’s more important for the AVS not because of the actual homec court advantage that it’s going to sound silly when I say this but

Because it truthfully feels like the Avalanche need the fans to be behind them a little bit more um just because I know you don’t get quite the like reaction that you do in basketball right like when you’re on the court like there truthfully feels like there’s like a

Six-man out there when you have the fans that are so engaged with it but because the N or the Avalanche just aren’t as stable as a team the idea of them having to go on the road just really kills me and maybe it is because of this road

Trip that they went on three out of 12 points is terrible and yeah they were playing some really good teams but you’re hoping that they get back to Denver and they’re able to capitalize on it and have the fans you know kind of help them out in a sense but then yeah

You look at the analytics and like I said you don’t really feel the crowd’s energy quite like you do for a basketball game and so I’m sitting here and I’m like who really needs it more when I sit here and I draw out my head I

Can go both ways but I think you’re right I was last night I was so set on the ABS I was like they really need it they’re just continuing to struggle they we saw them during their Championship Ron everybody talked about their road record but now that you sit here and say

It and I think back to the Nuggets games I’m like you’re right it’s been a bit more of a struggle too for them on the road and you just gosh you hope that they can both pull it out I know this is going to sound like I’m just trying to

Get out of this conversation but you just hope that they can both somehow pull it out Jake and both have home core or home ice because I think they’re both not as strong of teams as they were when they both won championships shocker sounds crazy but they need the extra

Help man yeah and I think part of your thing too Rachel is the Avalanche aren’t as good as the nuggets in their sport this year so in a way you’re like yeah the ABS need home ICE more because they are not as good of a team but I think

The ABS Road struggles just come down to the fact that they’re not as good whereas the Nuggets Road struggles there’s just it’s just something about the sport where where it comes down to it’s the environment atmosphere the whole thing you’re correct I will say the one thing we haven’t counted on is

Off the court and off the ice stuff famously the last two moments of off the floor stuff off the court stuff in the playoffs on the road the Nuggets had a team meal at Jeff Green’s house that rejuvenated the whole rejuvenated the whole team yep end up winning three

Games in a row in the finals the last moment the ABS had on the road one of their players was in an incident report with the police yeah and honestly that seems like that locker room for the Avalanche are really really struggling right now it seems like there’s a lot of chemistry

Issues a lot of Disconnect I know that they’ve had player-led team meetings over there to try and figure it out and I just I don’t know do you think it’s the fact that they’re missing Captain Gabe landeskog it it sounds ridiculous because I’m like you have a player like

Nathan McKinnon who’s being a leader we’ve heard he’s become more vocal you have a player like M ranton who has been unbelievable early on in the season we were all talking about him could he be in the heart trophy conversation obviously that kind of conversation has died off with the season that Nathan

McKinnon is having and he should win it but is it really possible that they are just missing one person and one person only like is Gabe landeskog that big of a inspiration in that locker room forget leadership forget inspiration he’s a point per game guy who’s your toughest guy on the ice like

He hit he he gets in there he he does the Dirty Work along the boards he gets to the tough spots uh in front of the net and he plays different St he the ability to go dangle a goal snipe AAL he has the ability to get a garbage

Goal he has the ability to go play defense unlike any forward on the AVS right now yeah he’s their best two-way player besides kale who’s an unbelievable two-way player from the defensive side so best two-way forward that they have so I think that’s what gets overlooked especially by the people

On our station honestly is oh it’s they’re missing their leader they need the leadership yeah they they do I I don’t disagree but Gabe is a kick butt type of player and you need in the line Jak it’s a Friday we can do it roll with

It no I I I agree with you but let’s be honest Gabriel atlos scog is not gonna come back if he comes back in the playoff and he’s gonna be playoff Gabe like he was in the or in the cup run like no that that that he’s never GNA be

The same player again so and like the fact that we’re all using Gabe is like this crutch of oh they really need Gabriel lisc Back Gabe’s not going to be the same so we all need to stop that hope and that dream right now and they

Need to be able to figure out with a without Gabe yeah if they get him back it’s an extra bonus but he’s not going to be as beneficial look at our T ledent it took him what two months to really be able to get back into things that’s how

Long the playoff run is and he had a surgery which we know the timeline we know the recovery we know how it works Gabriel Landis Cog is having a surgery with a success rate that is not 100% no uh a surgery that’s not been done by an ice hockey player with a successful

Recovery and it’s not really been done by anyone else in professional Sports so the other guy is Lonzo ball who’s still struggling so we have no idea what this Gabriel Landis situation is going to look like uh so to count on him or rely on him and say everything’s going to be

Fixed when Gabe comes back is incorrect but at the same time if they had a healthy Gabe like if the knee injury just didn’t exist they would be fine so I understand the logical fallacy that everyone’s falling into um at the end of the day they need Val nushin of clear

Mind to be a very great player and they need Gabe l C on the ice to provide some of the gritty stuff that he does and maybe he’s not as skilled as he was before and they need to maybe get a backup goalie and they need to get a

Backup center or a second line Center too yeah nuggets they just kind of need to get their stuff together to be honest isn’t that the truth though so let’s go to the Nuggets does everybody just need to pump the freaking breaks on the freakout that’s happening yes Colin

Gillespie should not get the ball for more than five minutes I’m with everybody that even seems like a lot he was struggling I think I think he was really just trying to prove a point the other night against the Kings it was a struggle and I get it but col Gillespie

Is not going to be getting 20 minutes come playoff games I feel like everybody just needs to pump your brakes a little bit and as long as everybody is healthy everything should be fine we could get some really good playoff games Colin Gillespie literally can’t play in the

Playoffs he’s not eligible to uh so that’s beautiful that’s not gonna happen uh the Zodiac GM had a great tweet today um nuggets head coach earlier today said we have the best fiveman starting unit in the league which he said a million times we all know that zodiac GM coach

Malone Virgo yic Pisces Gordon Virgo Porter Jr cancer kcp Pisces cusp Murray Pisces quote one of the few starting lineups in the league where all the starters are compatible energy all because very synergetic team and they do the moon signs are with us oh the nuggets the nuggets theug nuggets I just

Hope that they can remain healthy that’s like my biggest thing is you know even if it’s just a little tweak here and there that can linger for Lord knows how long and so that’s where you’re really just like get healthy I’m glad that they didn’t play Jamal and kcp the other

Night get the All-Star break started early and all I can think in the back of my head Jake is how much Nicole yic probably does not want to be playing on Sunday night but here he is representing the Denver Nuggets yeah yeah I think the nuggets are very happy that Nicole yok

Is the only person besides pause going to the all-star game uh so it’ll be a good break um you know doc I don’t know if you watched the Bucks game last night did you Rachel I did not but I heard about it so the Bucks lost to the

Memphis Grizzlies you might be thinking well the Grizzlies they’re a decent team whatever they were second in the west last year no they’re one of the worst teams in basketball this year John Mor’s been out entirely almost entirely the entire year um Marcus Smart is out jiren Jackson’s the only one playing Stephen

Adams is hurt then traded the Grizzlies are awful they’ve had 15 players on their injury report almost the whole year they’ve got a two-way player Vince Williams who got a promotion and gii Jackson carrying the team they beat the Milwaukee Bucks last night and the Milwaukee Bucks are three and seven

Since Doc Rivers took over as the head coach can we just talk about like basketball Karma it truthfully feels like basketball karma is just coming into play since Doc Rivers came I mean um his name is blanking me right now so Jake help me out Griffith thank you he

Was doing fine like they were doing good they seemed like a solid team and then they’re just like eh we want a more veteran coach so here we go they had some major problems um the the record was fine but they had some major problems behind the scenes with some of

Their defensive stuff they went from one of the best defensive teams in the NBA to one of the worst and a lot of that is based off the fact that they had Drew holiday and now of Dame Lillard like a lot of it was a Personnel thing uh my

Point in bringing this up is not for deep dive on Milwaukee Bucks talk which I would be happy to do but kind of hear to Doc Rivers I’m not going to lie but besides the point it’s great stuff they’re one of the best teams in basketball Baran they have a lot of

Talent I I think they’re going to get bounced early this year because there’s just so much stuff going on with that team but they have a stretch before the All-Star break that just doesn’t make sense the Lakers are five and0 and they suck in their last five games like they

Suck in their five and0 in their last five games the entire NBA is checked out for the two weeks before Allstar week I would not be concerned with the Nuggets having their literal worst stretch of basketball since November of 2021 right before the All-Star break and a year

Where they have a championship hangover their star Point guard’s upset he’s not an Allstar and by the way their star point guard has missed half the minutes in the last two three games because of injuries so I would not be looking into this stretch and say okay I can read

Anything into this from the Nuggets that loss to the Kings the other night was so annoying and so mad maddening it just was a joke that they couldn’t bring that out ESP wait wait were you more mad about their loss to the Kings or were

You more mad about CU um not giving the ball last night for the UCLA game I was I I was so mad about Cody Williams not touching the ball at the last I can’t even I can’t even that that’s that’s beyond um but no like Rachel like I it

Was just a bad way to lose a game but there are 82 of these things and you can’t read in something to all of them they don’t all mean something half of them actually mean nothing whatsoever and we’ll forget about them in a week as soon as the Nuggets play their next

Tight game and we’re like blah blah blah blah so I I think the bigger concern for me with the Nuggets is not actually what’s going on currently with them but Minnesota seems to have figured it out they’re so good like they are so good and they will kick the Clippers butt if

They match up in the playoffs Minnesota will the Clippers have beaten the nuggets in their last two games all of a sudden after the nuggets have beaten the clippers for like 15 times in a row and Oklahoma city has the ability to out aete the nuggets in a playoff series I

Don’t think that I wouldn’t say Oklahoma City’s the favorites but they could play a style in which the Nuggets just couldn’t compete if that happens so I’m concerned based off what else is going on in the west combined with the fact that they didn’t pick up any veterans at

The deadline or in the buyout market so far they’ve got two guys on their active roster Jaylen pick it and vaco chanar vco due to injury Jaylen pick it because he wasn’t a good draft pick this year this year that aren’t contributing at all so they just have some serious like

Depth issues and some serious concerns based off matchups about what else is going on in the west and all those teams I mentioned by the way the Clippers yeah they’ve beaten the nuggets the last few times the Thunder they’re three And1 against the Nuggets this year the

Timberwolves blew the nuggets out in a game and by the way the Kings who they might match up with in the playoffs as the four five right now is what they’re scheduled the Kings just beat their butts twice in a row so I’m a little concerned with what else is going on in

The west more so than I am internally with the nuggets at the same time again when their starting five is out there they don’t lose to anybody so a lot of this could be okay this is just re regular season noise once we get to the playoffs and these five guys are playing

More it won’t matter like it’s hard to to know how much you should be concerned when they are going to look like a drastically different team come the playoffs and we all know it and in the moments they needed to flip the switch in the regular season like they did in

Boston and won that game or anytime they’ve gone to LA and Jamal Murray’s had a points proof they’ve looked fantastic so it’s hard to know what to read into but I’m telling you right now they’ve earned the benefit of our doubt they’ve earned it there are some

Big red flags but they’ve earned the benefit of the D they’re lucky that they still have their starting five out there the same ones that obviously won a championship uh Jake real quick let me see the Jersey you’re rocking looks brand new my friend looks great I can’t

I guess that’s a bad look but yeah the new uh the new uh flag kit from the Rapids that debuted this morning um I got a first look at it last night picked up the Jersey uh they’re going with an all burgundy look Rachel this year burgundy shorts burgundy socks uh and

The kits trying to uh help some causes and inspiring more people especially in the Commerce City area to play soccer which is awesome I’m all for Youth Sports big fan of Youth Sports so um cool look and obviously a lot of hope this year that the Rapids will be better

Than last year was one of the worst seasons ever um they made a lot of moves this offseason got a new coach so um I I always enjoy when Colorado has good sports teams and you should too and if you hadn’t been to a Rapids game if the

Weather is nice they’re very fun so fun who has a better win percentage the Rapids or the Rockies that’s a good question especially with the the draws so I’m gonna say the Rockies and and it’s not because the Rockies are going to be good but because even the worst teams in

Baseball have like a 400% win percentage like it’s just really hard to be extreme in baseball um the Rapids I think are going to take take a step forward but there’s so many draws in soccer that I I don’t know that they’re actually going to truly win that

Many games I expect though that the Rapids will fight for the final playoff spots in the Western Conference in MLS the Rockies aren’t going to be even close to making the playoffs they’ll be 35 games out so they won’t even sniff the playoffs right so the rapid season

Will be a lot more exciting but just by the nature of soccer I would bet on the Rockies having a better win percentage all right well Jake as always an absolute play my friend thank you so much you look great in the Jersey the kit I should say I feel like

He needs to get the shorts like everything out there but you guys happy Friday I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend enjoy watching the All-Star game with Nicole yish we are off on Monday for president day but we will be back here at 12:00 p.m. mountain time on

Tuesday so come hang out with us again for another episode of coffee break I’m going to go take down my Christmas tree because yes I am that person and it is not done yet so wish me luck everybody I’m determined to get it done and we will see you on Tuesday bye everybody

Which team’s recent skids are more concerning? The Colorado Avalanche or the Denver Nuggets? Rachel and Jake discuss the problems that both teams are dealing with and who needs home court/ice more!

00:00 intro
00:30 Jake Shapiro joins the show
00:45 Should we be more concerned with the Avs or the Nuggets?
8:00 Which team needs home (court or ice) more?
16:40 Does everyone just need to relax on the Nuggets
18:30 What happened to the Bucks last night?!

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