The empty net fills the heart. The reluctance with 55 points reveals the character.
It is one thing to insist the Avalanche and Nuggets should win another championship, and it is another thing for them to show us.
The connective tissue binding these two teams was on full display this week.
Thursday night, the Avs clobbered the Sabres. Gavin Brindley illustrated the depth without Valeri Nichushkin, and Mackenzie Blackwood hinted of the emergence of a two-headed goalie monster. But Gabe Landeskog’s goal at the 18:11 mark pulled the curtain back on the chemistry in the room. Martin Necas passed up a hat trick to pass to the captain for the empty netter. He retrieved the puck after his miss and put it on Landeskog’s stick.
This is the type of stuff that matters in title runs, where respect and caring about teammates matter more than personal stats.
Which brings us to Nikola Jokic.
He poured in 55 points in a win over the Clippers, marking the first time Denver has won when he reached 50. So what makes this special? The fact that he did not want to do it, and the efficiency (18 of 23 from the floor). Jokic could score like this every night. He is inevitable, if not unguardable. But he is an all-time great — and will be in the top 10 after another MVP award this season — because he plays the right way. Motion. Hit the open man. Get the ball to the streaking player in transition. He only poured 55 in Los Angeles because it was required with Cam Johnson (elbow) and Christian Braun (ankle) injured and the Clippers guarding him one-on-one.
His style reflects the Latin phrase coach David Adelman placed in the practice facility that reads, “Age quod agi.” Translated it means, “do well whatever you do.” It is a reminder to players to be present, to enjoy the moment, to play for one another.
Nobody wins a title in November. But the actions of Necas and Jokic are the bread crumbs we can follow to a downtown parade.
No Justice: The Yankees’ Aaron Judge won his third American League MVP award. He was an offensive monster. But this was a swing-and-miss by voters. Cal Raleigh deserved it. Everything about his season screamed special. He paced the AL in home runs and RBIs, set a new dinger record for a switch hitter and led the Mariners to their first division title since 2001. Did we mention he is a catcher? The metrics did not love him this season, but he was the platinum winner a year ago and was certainly functional. That has more value than an outfielder playing half his games in a stadium smaller than Williamsport . Judge won. Congratulations. History will show the trophy should have gone to Raleigh.
Bye George: Rick George going bye George, transitioning from his athletic director’s post to an advisory role at CU, bears watching. He is the sole reason that Deion Sanders is the Buffs coach. It is fair to assume the pressure will increase on Coach Prime to get the program back on track under a new boss. Most people believe Sanders answers to no one. That might be true. But he will be answering to someone if his fourth season in charge looks like his first and third ones.
Moneyball: Dick Monfort revealed this week that he saw “Moneyball” around the time the movie came out in 2011. But not for the character Paul Brand, but the man playing him. “I am a big Jonah Hill fan. I liked it just because I loved Jonah. I knew later that it was Paul.” That would be Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ new head of baseball operations. Former general manager Dan O’Dowd vetted many of the Rockies’ candidates, and he signed off DePodesta. That carried a lot of weight with the Monforts, Dick and son Walker. It might not work. But an outside hire was always the right choice.
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.