Blog | off-the-glass

Dec 6, 2019
4 min

Good to Great: How the Best Teams in the NBA Can Get Better

Franchise Sports The best teams in the NBA have begun to separate themselves from the pack. And with the fall of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, there’s plenty of space at the top of the basketball mountain. From Long Beach to Cream City, from H-Town to Bean Town, there are some seriously good clubs in the Association this season. But what can they do to get even better? (Stats via NBA.com) Honorable Mentions A few of your favorite teams may not have made the following lis

OTG's All-Decade Team: Denver Nuggets Edition

Jeremy Freed

Dec 4, 2019
4 min

OTG's All-Decade Team: Denver Nuggets Edition

Denver Nuggets With the past decade coming to a close, what better way to ring in the new decade by reflecting on the past. Off The Glass is taking a look at each NBA team and selecting their All-Decade squad, which is defined by one guard, one forward, one center, a role player (someone not selected as an All-Star, or to an All-NBA team), and one wildcard. Today we are highlighting the Denver Nuggets. Forward of the Decade: Danilo Gallinari Gallo in many ways was a microcosm

Jeremy Freed

Nov 29, 2019
3 min

Denver Nuggets: 4 Thoughts, Week 5

USA Today A man thinks the Nuggets are hitting their stride. Denver just aced an early-season test! They went 4-0 on a nice little mid-November homestand against a decidedly rugged line-up of teams. Falling by the wayside, in order, were the Southwest-leading Rockets, the Atlantic-leading Celtics, the overachieving Suns, and the surprisingly high-powered Wizards. Moreover, they did it convincingly, with three of the four wins coming by double digits. Coming into this week, I

Jeremy Freed

Nov 21, 2019
3 min

Denver Nuggets: 4 Thoughts, Week 4

A Sea of Blue Oh Denver! What a difference a week and a punctuation mark make! After looking like a hot, fresh manure in the first half of their home game against the Nets, the Nuggets finally heeded my call to get them some Juancho Hernangomez, overcame one of the most putrid shooting nights of Jamal Murray’s career, and turned a 12- point halftime deficit into an eight-point win. Then, instead of reverting to the mean, they throttled the Grizzlies in Memphis for a tidy 2-0

Jeremy Freed

Nov 14, 2019
4 min

Denver Nuggets: 4 Thoughts, Week 3

USA Today Oh Denver. Just when you think you’ve turned the corner with an EPIC comeback against Philly (toldja that should’ve been on national TV) and a rugged OT win in Minnesota, you come home and get the doors blown off by the Hawks. The Hawks! With no John Collins, and Kevin Huerter leaving early due to an injury. Am I too hard on a 7-3 team? Maybe -- it just feels like they’re a content team right now, when they should be a hungry team. What makes me feel this way? 1. On

Jeremy Freed

Nov 8, 2019
3 min

Denver Nuggets: 4 Thoughts, Week 2

Denver Stiffs I am here to tell you that the Denver Nuggets are a compelling team. One minute they’re cruising along at 3-0, up five heading into the 4th quarter at home, where they’ve been pretty unbeatable the last two seasons. The next thing you know, they’ve been fondued by Slovenian Chocolate Luka Doncic to drop their first game, and sleepwalk through a god-awful loss to the Pelicans, who haven’t won any of their six other tries, to fall to 3-2. Mike Malone uses both han

4 Thoughts After Week 1 of the 2019-20 Season For the Denver Nuggets

Jeremy Freed

Oct 31, 2019
2 min

4 Thoughts After Week 1 of the 2019-20 Season For the Denver Nuggets

Denver Stiffs One week down, twenty-four to go, and there’s lots to like a Mile High, despite crumbling down the stretch at home to Dallas last night. But first, something’s bothering me. 1. Where did all of the assists go? Last year’s team was a ball-moving ballet, and the team averaged 27.4 per game, good for second in the league. Through four games, that number has dropped to 22.0 per game, good for just 11th in the league, and a drop of nearly 20%. Everyone’s numbers are

2019-20 Breakout Player Series: Malik Beasley

Nick Fay

Oct 22, 2019
3 min

2019-20 Breakout Player Series: Malik Beasley

USA Today As the Denver Nuggets look to build on last season’s second-place finish in the West, their depth will be a huge asset as they strive to rise to the top of a vicious Western Conference. Teams like the Clippers (Kawhi Leonard & Paul George), Lakers (Lebron James and Anthony Davis), and Rockets (James Harden and Russell Westbrook) may have more dynamic duos leading their teams than Denver’s impressive Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray one-two punch, but the top-to-bottom

Who Will Be First Time All-Stars In 2019-20?

Matt Esposito

Oct 18, 2019
4 min

Who Will Be First Time All-Stars In 2019-20?

SB Nation Ah, yes, I remember my first time. If you just read that opening sentence, it means that my editors are doing one of two things. Option A: I have worn them down so much that they just decided to let me run rampant with these blogs. Option B: Someone isn't doing their job. Regardless, let's jump head first into the discussion. Which players can reach their first All-Star game this year? The best way to approach this is to consider who may not be participating in the

Which Teams are Best Positioned to Pull off a Blockbuster Trade?

Chandler Harper

Oct 16, 2019
5 min

Which Teams are Best Positioned to Pull off a Blockbuster Trade?

The 2019-2020 NBA season should be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory; there is no clear favorite to win it all. There are also lots of teams who have the necessary resources to pull off a blockbuster trade that could change the landscape of the league. Here are the teams best positioned to pull it off: Honorable Mentions NBA.com Atlanta Atlanta has the necessary firepower to make a big-time trade that would shake up the East. They could use Allen Crabbe’s l

The Top 50 NBA Players Entering the 2019-20 Season: 30-26

Jac Manuell/Kory Waldron

Oct 5, 2019
3 min

The Top 50 NBA Players Entering the 2019-20 Season: 30-26

30. Nikola Vucevic Season Stats 2018-2019: 20.8 PPG 12 RPG 3.8 APG 1.0 STLS 1.1 BLK PER: 25.5 TS%: 57.3% WS: 10.1 - 51/36/78 He’s an All-Star, he rebounds at a high rate, he can score in a variety of ways and is no slouch defensively. Surrounded by a young team only getting better and entering the prime of his own career, Vucevic is in position to continue to thrive in Orlando. Vucevic will never be the flashiest name at the center position but he’s one you have to prepare fo

2019-20 NBA Team Preview Series: Denver Nuggets

Jeremy Freed

Sep 23, 2019
3 min

2019-20 NBA Team Preview Series: Denver Nuggets

ESPN The 2019-2020 NBA season starts October 22nd and to get you ready for tip-off, Off the Glass is previewing all 30 teams. Today we look at the Denver Nuggets. 2018-2019 Record: 54-28, 1st in the Northwest Division. Beat San Antonio 4-3 in the First Round. Lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 4-3 in Western Conference Semifinals. Season Recap: After losing a play-in game to Minnesota in 2018, the Nuggets continued their ascent under Mike Malone in 2019, charging to the top o

Khaleel Abdullah/Matt Esposito/William Jackson

Aug 28, 2019
4 min

2017 NBA Re-Draft: Part 1

Complex Pick 30: Los Angeles Lakers - Frank Ntilikina (Original pick: Josh Hart) The last (first round) pick of the Phil Jackson era in New York has not been great. Defensively is where his game shines, but his career 5.9 PPG on 35% shooting is horrendous. To restart his NBA career, why not put him in L.A. to get some bench minutes while backing up Fox. Pick 29: San Antonio Spurs - Markelle Fultz (Original pick: Derrick White) Let’s have fun. Fultz has not lived up to the hyp

Why the Jerami Grant Trade Was Great for Both Teams

Nathan Walroth

Aug 3, 2019
4 min

Why the Jerami Grant Trade Was Great for Both Teams

Bleacher Report Somewhat lost amidst the upheaval of their basketball-changing trades of Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded away a third starter from last year’s playoff team -- 5th-year forward Jerami Grant. In his deal to the Nuggets, the Thunder acquired their eighth and final (for now, at least) future first-round pick, a good rate of exchange for the former 2nd round pick (39th overall) out of Syracuse. Though he’s entering his sixth seas

Nathan Sherman

Jul 20, 2019
5 min

Best Bradley Beal Landing Spots

Bullets Forever The Washington Wizards are on the short list for worst Eastern Conference team next season. They have been a dumpster fire the past couple seasons, going so far as not hiring a new general manager and it’s July 18th as I write this! They have literally bypassed the two biggest tasks of a general manager (the draft and free agency) and are still yet to name the person who will be captaining their franchise into a new era of change. To make matters worse, John

Jeremy Freed

Jul 9, 2019
2 min

Jerami Grant Traded to Denver

USA Today What’s the deal? Oklahoma City sends Jerami Grant to Denver for protected 2020 first round draft pick What does Grant bring to the Nuggets? Grant is an ascendant player entering his prime. Proved that he could hold down a starting spot last year for the Thunder, though he’ll likely come off the bench in Denver. A consistently strong defender with a developing offensive game, Grant hit 39% of his threes last year while shooting nearly four a game -- not a small sampl

Jeremy Freed

Jul 1, 2019
2 min

Paul Millsap Stays in Denver

USA Today What’s the deal? 1 Year, $30 million team option picked up What does Millsap bring to the Nuggets? Millsap is not the player he used to be, and doesn’t blow up a box score with his stats, but he’s a great fit in Denver. He’s a strong defender next to Nikola Jokic, and stretches the floor enough to give Jamal Murray and Gary Harris room to operate. Advanced stats still love him: in the real plus-minus rankings, the top three power forwards were Giannis Antetenkounmpo

Matt Esposito

Jun 30, 2019
3 min

Top Free Agent Targets: Denver Nuggets

Denver Stiffs Max Cap Space: $9.2 Million Mid-level Exception & $3.6 Million Bi-Annual Exception Update: The Nuggets have picked up forward Paul Millsap’s $30 million-dollar option. Perhaps this signals that Denver would rather have Millsap on his expiring contract that gamble that they could land a guy like Tobias Harris. Still, Denver is under the luxury tax and will have a couple of exceptions to play with. They also extended a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles. So, let’s sta

Cameron Tabatabaie

Jun 21, 2019
3 min

2019 NBA Free Agents: Marcus Morris

USA TODAY Sports Overview: For long stretches of the Boston Celtics’ disappointing season, veteran forward Marcus Morris kept his team afloat. While the club’s young core floundered and Kyrie Irving stirred the pot, Morris went out and had himself a career year. His production regressed considerably in the spring, though it rebounded during the postseason. Still, he remained an important offensive weapon for the C’s. With Boston’s offseason plans severely in flux, it’s unclea

Gus Saltonstall

Jun 19, 2019
11 min

Best Fan Moments of the 2019 Playoffs

USA Today With the NBA postseason now behind us it seems like the right time to reflect on the spectacle of the 2018-19 playoffs, before the memories of the earlier rounds and the greatness of the Finals fade away into free agency and the start of next season. The Toronto Raptors are the champions of the world. The Golden State Warriors quest to win four out of five was ended by a strong Toronto team, a myriad of injuries, and inconsistencies on the defensive end. At the end