6-2-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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That's betterhelp.com slash positive. The debate is still raging. Is it ship or is it chip? I'm telling you, you all have adopted not only a snarky and sarcastic approach to the question we stumbled on about 22 hours ago, but you've also become very logical, very cerebral about the question, is it chip or is it chip?

Some of you think it's both and you have used both abbreviations in a sentence, which is very impressive. Some of you have no idea what we're talking about, which is also hysterical, but I think my favorite remark so far came just about two hours ago in response to our poll, which is still ongoing, by the way, and no, we're not going to explain it. If you have no idea what we're talking about, that's okay too. But if you do know what we're talking about and you have an opinion, well, we'd love it if you would take our poll on Twitter after our CBS. One response, my favorite response, I don't respect anyone who says either.

I'm not a cool kid. You don't have to worry about me dropping either chip or ship, but I do want to know what the cool kids say. I am trying to keep up with the trends, you know, so whether it's a ship or it's a chip, the Denver Nuggets are one win closer to the first in their franchise history.

Maybe it's a ship and it's a chip. Ball Arena hosting its first ever NBA Finals game and coming up in one hour, we'll have a chance to talk with longtime Altitude TV analyst and former NBA big man, Scott Hastings. Now he's been with us on the show before. You want to know the last time we had Scott on the show?

This is pretty fun. And also it took me a minute to remember he played with the bad boys in the late 80s, early 90s. So he was on that second team, the 89-90 team that won the second consecutive crown. And so he played with the bad boys and we had him on the show to react to the last dance and the Michael Jordan documentary that came out in the spring of 2020 when everything else was shut down. If you remember, ESPN moved it up.

It wasn't supposed to air until the summertime and they moved it up because they wanted to have that appointment TV to market when the spring sports had been completely shuttered. And so we had him on the show to talk about what it was like to play with the bad boys. So Scott Hastings has been an analyst in Denver for years. He actually finished his career with the Nuggets. He only played in one NBA Finals in his entire career, ended up with a ring. And now on-site in Denver, in Ball Arena, where the fans are so, so enthusiastic, energetic. It was an electric atmosphere inside the arena and he was there. And he has covered these players, he's covered this team, Mike Malone.

So we'll get his insight and also get him to set the scene for us. That's coming up an hour from now in Denver. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Happy almost Friday to you. We're pretty excited. Every week the opportunity we have to use our favorite phrase, well actually happy Friday would be our favorite phrase, but in lieu of that, happy almost Friday. And somehow, Jane, I forgot to say it on Thursday afternoon. How did that happen?

Why? Why did we forget to say it? I feel as though I'm missing a finger or something. I know. Not that finger. When I heard it, when we came in before, I was like, oh yeah, there it is.

Something felt weird. Well, I said it to our anchor Dexter Henry, who will be in here at the bottom of the hour. And then I realized you and I had not uttered those sweet words, happy almost Friday. So I'm saying it to you all, happy almost Friday, my friends.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We got, I'm going to retweet the poll too. We got a ton of you responding the last two nights to our different show questions. And they were very different, but we've had fun with them because there were two nights without NBA finals and without a Stanley Cup final game. Tonight's show question is actually even farther off the beaten path, right? So two nights ago, we asked you, shoot, what did we ask you two nights ago?

Well, let's go backward the other way because I'll remember it then. Last night, we were asking you what other teams or fan bases desperately need a championship, which is how we got on chip and ship. A championship, which is how we got on chip and ship.

Because not only is this Denver's first chance, but the Florida Panthers and the Golden Knights, the Vegas Golden Knights are also without championships in their franchise history, though admittedly for Vegas, it's a much shorter history. We had a blast. We got inundated with your phone calls, your Facebook posts, your tweets, which city, which franchise, which fan base desperately needs a championship. Who's got next, right?

That fun phrase when you're playing pickup. Who's got next? And so we saw your tweets all day long and we really enjoyed trying some of those on for size, if you will.

Before that, we asked you, so the night before, we asked you to rank your top three favorite sports months or your top three sports months on the calendar year. So we've kind of put some feelers out there and as you know, we rarely follow any type of formula. We're kind of goofy and sometimes things strike me. Strike my fancy, if you will. I don't even know what that means.

They strike me and so I kind of throw them out there and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I mean the whale video was night before that. Jay, every time I say the whale video, he laughs because he knows we struck it rich with the whale video.

If you haven't seen it, still on my Twitter. Anyway, so on three consecutive nights, we've done three very different questions. We've thrown out for you just kind of engaging and interacting. Well, tonight we've got another one that we think will be just as goofy and just as fun and it does actually start with an athlete, an all-time athlete, a GOAT if you will, but he's way outside his comfort zone. And actually, Jay and I think it's a brilliant move.

We think that one company is about to strike it rich with this move. So we'll explain coming up. But first, the NBA Finals of course.

So what'd you think? Again, on Twitter or Facebook, we're happy to have you with us as we bid farewell to a Thursday and a work week and we move on into Friday and the weekend, first full weekend of June. And yes, if you are a longtime sports fan, you know June means we crown champions in both hoops and hockey. The Denver Nuggets still unbeaten at home in this postseason. Best home team of the year in the regular season and they'd been off for nine days. So I was expecting fresh legs. I was expecting that it was going to be kind of a ton of energy right out of the gate. Now, would they make all the shots?

Would they be able to settle into a rhythm right away considering how much time they had off? That was the question. Nicole Jokic guarded by Jimmy Butler. They double-team Jokic, throws out of it. Bruce Brown, wide open three.

Good! Exactly what you're supposed to do. Joker one-for-one shots. That's his eighth assist.

Gordon has it the other way here for Denver. He gets a high pick from Jokic, throws it to Joker, guarded by Cody Zeller. He drives in on Zeller, shoves him out of the way. Layup good.

Joker downloads Gordon again. Layup good. That's 14 for Aaron Gordon in the first half. Nuggets lead it by 15. Jamal Murray has it. Bounce pass inside the arc over to Nicole Jokic guarded by Jimmy Butler. Back on top to Jamal for three.

Good! 57 to 42. 13-point lead for Denver. Murray has it. Left side of the mid-court circle.

10 seconds left to go in the first half. He's guarded by Caleb Martin. Pick from Nicole Jokic. Murray through the window to Joker.

Spin move. Layup good. Double-double Nicole Jokic in the first half on three shots. For the longest time, Jokic didn't even bother to shoot the basketball. Instead, he was at the high post. He was out on the wings. Instead, he was taking the pass and he was distributing to his teammates. And he had Jamal Murray, who would be coming off curls.

Of course, they would do the pick and roll as well. He had Michael Porter going to the hoop. He had Aaron Gordon, who was there as well. And he was looking inside first, but when the shot or when the opportunity wasn't there, when there was defense in the lane, which often because of how much those nuggets move without the ball, they were wide open in the lane.

But if not, then he would find someone out on the wing and Jamal Murray would hit the shots. Bruce Brown hit a couple of big shots as well. A couple of big threes. The Nuggets come out with a great attack plan and they take the lead into the halftime locker room.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Jason Kosmici with the call. Double digit assists for Jokic in the first half because he didn't need to score. He didn't want to score initially. And by coming out to the high post, he was bringing the defense with him.

Right, so that's the deal. Wherever Jokic goes, there has to be at least one body, if not two. And who is most likely to guard him? Well, if you look at the Heat lineup and they're they're relatively small, it's Bam out of bio.

Now Bam can jump out of a building. He's extremely athletic. But you know what you would rather not have is him guarding the hoop. You would rather not have him in the lane. You would rather not have him as the last line of defense because he's a shot blocker. You would rather have him out on the perimeter, out at the top of the key, so that he's not around the hoop and he can't alter shots. And that's the challenge with Jokic.

Well, one of the many. Because Jokic can play up top, because he is one of the best passing big men in the league, because his teammates know that when he's got the ball, he's looking for them so they should cut to the hoop or find an open space. They should be moving at the very least so that he can't, they should be flashing, whether to the hoop or whether in and back out with a v-cut.

Because he's going to find them. And in posting up high and setting up top of the key, he's keeping Bam out of bio away from the hoop. Guess how many blocked shots Bam had tonight? None. Guess how many times he wasn't inside to play defense?

A lot. The game plan was brilliant and Jokic clearly does not care how many points he racks up because it was late in the first quarter before he ever even took a shot. The Nuggets were able to pad their lead in the third quarter, but what do we know about the heat?

What do we know? This is their MO. A lot of times it's only in desperation, under pressure, with their backs against the wall that they will click, that they will really lock in.

This is who they are. Jimmy has the rock outside the right block. Ward in front.

Gets up top. Moves it to Caleb for three. He got it. His first make of the game in seven tries. Lowry for three and he gets one to go. Seventh make for Miami in 26 tries. His first make in three tries from downtown. He has five points. It just matters about time and score.

Is there enough time and enough execution to make this a game? Lowry to Duncan. Right side of the arc. Back out top to Lowry.

Uses a left screen. He's got room for a three. He made the three. Kyle Lowry now three of five from downtown.

He has 11. It's a 10 point game. And Jason Jackson with the calls on Miami Heat Radio, actually the heat pull within nine after an 11-0 run. And you'd have to be hiding under a rock to not know that's what the Heat were going to do. In addition, if you're the Nuggets and you've been sitting on your rear ends taking a load off, of course you're practicing, you're going through shoot around, you're watching film, all that jazz.

You're probably, now I don't know this for sure, but if I'm Michael Malone, I'm having these guys watch the Eastern Conference Finals together because there's so much that you can see and talk about. And I don't know that they did that. Maybe they didn't.

Maybe they watched the next day because the games were at night, or actually only 6 30 Denver time. So you never know. But it's free scouting. That's part of the challenge of a regular season is you're so busy playing your own schedule that you don't have time to scout other teams. And so everything is on film. But when you're sitting around for nine plus days, oh well you can scout live.

And that's so much easier and it's so much better. So I wouldn't be surprised if they were scouting live. Certainly the coaches were. But I hope the players were too. So they have to know that this is Miami's MO.

This is who they are. Win or lose. Now I wasn't telling, it's funny because I tweeted something about this is who they are with always the late kick and the late push and the tenacity. And a bunch of snarky people wrote back about, oh too late, or oh no they didn't win. I didn't say they were going to win.

I just said win, lose, or draw. This is who the Heat are. We've seen this formula. We know their identity.

We know this is what they do. And Denver has also, over the course of these playoffs, allowed their opponents to come back in games. The Lakers did it multiple times. Now the Lakers got swept, but at least two of the games that I can think of, they had runs late in the game to pull within striking distance. So the Miami Heat do this well and the Nuggets are susceptible in this area. Ultimately though, we saw the Nuggets find their footing again and take game one. Nikola Jokic with a triple-double, but he was not the only guy who pitched in.

Who chipped in. Nah, this was a total team effort. And yes, Malone sees that and you'll take the win whoever you can get it, but he's not happy about the flow in the second half. We're up 1-0. That's great, but we have to close games out. We're up 21 to start that fourth quarter and they open up with a quick 8-0 run. Turnover layup. We miss a few open shots against the zone. Give up some threes. So in the finals, man, you can't pick and choose when you want to play.

We got to play much closer to 48 minutes. That's why they're great and they're really intelligent. They're really, everybody knows what they're doing and that's a hard team to beat because they keep playing the same way the whole game and they're really, really smart about how they're doing it.

They have a big goal in mind. You can't dwell in the negative, you know. If they're playing well, you gotta just do better and be in a better mind state to do it. You can't hang your head every time out. So I thought we did a good job, you know.

After time, I was just coming in locked in no matter what they do. Just executing and, you know, playing the way we play. We knew Nikola Jokic, if he didn't have a trouble double, would fill up a stat sheet. Jamal Murray is right now shooting the lights out. Is it so much fun to watch him with the basketball right now or is it just me?

I am, I mean, I'm so engaged when the Nuggets are playing. Yes, yes, Nikola Jokic and I love Michael Porter. My god, he can jump out of a building like him out of bio, the both of them.

They're like incredible athletes. I really think the Bruce Brown edge, that saltiness that Bruce Brown brings is great. He's like the Draymond Green of the Denver Nuggets in terms of his toad. Aaron Gordon, I was speaking of a toad. Aaron Gordon also brings that edge and that intensity.

Jamal Murray is in his sweet spot or should I say he's in his bag? Okay, see this is what happens when I try to talk the lingo. My niece doesn't get so mad if I said that.

Don't ever use that word Auntie Amy. I just, I try to be relevant. I'm not so much. I'm the super uncool host of After Hours but I do think it, I laugh at myself.

See, I can't even do it with a straight face when I say chip or ship and then I use something like in his bag or back up the Brinks truck or Binks truck. But the good news is I don't mind being a nerd. It fits me just fine. It's totally fine. So just, it's okay if you laugh with me or at me.

That's totally fine as well. All right, we're gonna keep going with game number one. I want you to hear from Jokic and Jamal Murray but the others as well. What was it like to have the first ever NBA Finals game in the Mile High City in Denver? I mean it wasn't 47 years for the Denver Broncos but for those of you who know anything about Denver sports history, you know that the Broncos lost in five Super Bowls, four or five Super Bowls before they ever won and John Elway had been always the bridesmaid, never the bride. They finally won back-to-back years in the late 90s. I'll never forget like as in never forget where I was and how I watched and my emotions in those moments ever and of course they've won since then. Super Bowl 50. Hey guys check it out. Just made myself my first TikTok.

Just made my first TikTok. Peyton Manning was in the house by the way. Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Justin Simmons and Sean Payton was there as well with a adult beverage in his hand. Anyway my point is to say that the Broncos waited a long time to win their first Super Bowl right and they suffered and lost before they, a painful failure, before they ever won their first two in franchise history. You think about the Colorado Avalanche.

Was it 2001? 2001 I believe when they claimed their first Stanley Cup and then had to wait another 20 plus years before they won their second and then the Denver Nuggets. Well the Colorado Rockies have been to a World Series but they've not won one. Remember they were the sacrificial lamb for the Red Sox in 2007.

They got swept but the Denver Nuggets are now in their first ever NBA Finals game and they've gone 47 years before they made an appearance. And Denver sports fans, well they know. They know what this is all about but I say anything worth having is worth sacrificing for.

You put that in your pipe, you smoke it. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Four Super Bowl losses before, I always go with your first answer, four Super Bowl losses before the Broncos finally won but how sweet it is when you finally break through.

You don't ever take it for granted and because you had to wait, because you suffered, because you failed, it's that much more joy and gratitude and the Nuggets are in that place. If they win this, they're in that place and their sports fans are in that place. Although how about the Avalanche winning last year and then the Nuggets potentially winning this year? Two consecutive championships in back-to-back winter sports seasons.

All right, a lot to get to. Nuggets still unbeaten at home in the playoffs. They trailed for all of 24 seconds in game number one of the NBA Finals. We'll hear from both the Nuggets as well as the Heat coming up. Glad to have you with us. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page.

Take our poll, ship or chip, because we're not cool and we need your advice. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

Murray gets a pick from KCP, lobs it in the paint to Jokic's little floater up and in. T-Mobile's network can help keep you connected to all your favorite podcasts when you're out and about. Whether you're an early bird looking to dive into a daily news podcast or a night owl who wants to catch up on the latest reality TV drama, T-Mobile will keep you connected on their strong and reliable network. T-Mobile covers more highway miles with 5G than anyone. So if you need great coverage, especially when you're on the go, check out T-Mobile.

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Thank you. 94 to 82 is the score. Denver leads it by 12. Gordon has it. Back over to Jamal. Now Jokic in the paint. Kick out over to Casey who attacks to the nail jumper. Good.

Big bucket there, man. Adebayu has it. He's at the elbow guarded by Nicole Jokic. He gets to the dotted line. Jump shot.

No good. Rebound Joker and there's a triple double from Nicole Jokic, the second player in NBA history to debut in the NBA finals with a triple double. Jason Kidd, the only other one to do that. You know, I reminded that group if they didn't know that Miami went into Milwaukee and won game one. They went into the Garden in New York City and won game one. They won game one up in Boston.

So, we did not want them coming in here taking control of the series on our court. Proud of our guys for going out there and getting the win. Michael Porter, double double. Jamal Murray, double double. Nicola, triple double. I felt Aaron Gordon's play on both ends of the floor in that first half really set the tone. And I thought Bruce was really good off the bench. You know, so this was everybody stepping up doing their job but knowing that we can all be a lot better come Sunday.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of one Michael Malone, eight years as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets and this process started years ago. We've been hearing it from them, from Jamal Murray, from Nicola Jokic, certainly from Michael Malone about building to this point. And so, here they are on the cusp but their first ever NBA finals game in their franchise history. And you hear the calls with Jason Kosmicki on Nuggets radio. Congratulations to the announcers who are calling their first finals game like Jason Jackson of the Heat Radio Network.

It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. By the way, before I go even farther, I must correct myself. I am wrong as in flat out wrong. I did not remember, do not remember still. So, this is back before I was in the business but I should have checked if it's just to be sure. I did not remember that the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996 actually. So, they have three cups in their franchise history and that was when they were new as a franchise. And so, that's my fault. Thank you for your corrections on Twitter, A Law Radio because like I said, I was not in the business then.

I was in college then and so I do not remember. But Michael and Anthony and others telling me that they won their first Stanley Cup, their first season in Denver in the mid 90s. So, thank you. I appreciate the correction. I apologize for that. So, you know those hockey fans did not have to suffer for long but then they went 20 plus years in between Stanley Cups.

The Broncos, they had to suffer for a long time and their fan base and Rockies are still waiting and the Nuggets, well they're on the cusp but their fans are technically still waiting as well. It was another one of those games for Nikola Jokic, 27 points, 14 assists, 10 of them coming in the first half, 10 rebounds as well and again because he's up top and he's posted high and because he's trying to pull the defense out of the lane and open up the lane for the cutters and open up the lane for guys who maybe do the back doors or can drive through the lane, can flash through the lane. He has fewer rebounds and yet still ends up with a triple-double and obviously the the biggest challenge for Miami, there are many challenges but the biggest challenge is what the heck do you do with Nikola Jokic because he can hurt opponents in many ways. That's the beauty of Nikola. You know, I learned a long time ago the defense tells you what to do and Nikola never forces it and so if they're going to give him that kind of attention, he had 10 assists at halftime I believe, um well he's going to just pick you apart and now it's up to the other guys to step in and make shots. Nikola never tries to impose his will or force things that aren't there, he's going to read the game, he's going to make the right play and most importantly he's going to make every one of his teammates better.

I don't force it, I was, I never force it. I think it was, you know, a couple guys had to get it going, AG was playing really good and we had advantage from there and you know, I just take whatever gives me. He's a heavy guy, so he's gonna get boards and rebound the ball and just be physical down there regardless, so even if he's not shooting well or not scoring, no he's still a load down there. Oh he's a load all right, that is the accurate and appropriate way to describe him. You may not think he's athletic, you may think he looks gangly, but he is long and he has a ton of reach and he's a big man. He is a true NBA center tough, well true NBA center in the fact that he's big and he's bulky, not so much in his game, his game is not so typical, but he is an MVP and he knows how to use his size and he doesn't mind doing whatever it is that can help his team win. Early on, early on it was a lot of Jamal Murray, it was a lot of Aaron Gordon, which was also great, a lot of Michael Porter Jr. So yeah, a hot start for multiple members of this Nuggets team, not just the big two in Jamal and in Jokic and so they know, they know they've got to keep the pedal to the metal and that's again, one area where I think the Nuggets are susceptible.

Maybe this was the lesson. It's not going to be an easy series by any means. That team is really, really good and they don't quit. That's the biggest thing about them. They're resilient and you saw in that fourth quarter, like there was no quit in them.

So we know we're going to have a battle for the rest of the series. Gordon brings such a, he brings such an intensity to it that any dunk feels like he's about to take you out. I mean, he dunks with authority. He does everything with that kind of, almost like a, it's an edginess. You could almost think he's playing angry with the way that he's out there on the court.

He takes everything personally. That's what it feels like as well, which I love about him. There's nothing about his game that he doesn't do 100%. So he did that interview on Altitude TV with Scott Hastings, who will join us at the top of the hour from Denver, part of their their army of analysts who are covering the series, of course, because it's NBA finals. Nicole Jokic certainly understands how important Aaron Gordon is to their success. I love to play with him.

I love to play with some, I want to say dominant big men, if that makes any sense. But he's really, he's really, the best thing that he did is accepting his role and he's really doing a great job of that. Today he had a, he got it going. We were just keeping, keep getting him the ball and he was really good in the paint today. You know, he's our best defender probably with KCP and, you know, just to play defense the whole game on the best player, I think that's really hard to do. Yeah, I mean Aaron Gordon, he's a guy who doesn't back down from a challenge and every team needs one or two of those guys. But high praise from Jokic who says he is our best defender.

Also Dexter Henry's here in studio. Can you believe there's still people out there calling him Jokic? Yes, I've heard that. Seriously, there are still people calling him Jokic. Unbelievable, unbelievable. That's got to be intentional disrespect in my opinion. Oh, you feel it's intentional disrespect. Well, if you're, first of all, the Nuggets are in the finals. Second of all, he's the best player in the NBA. I know he didn't win the MVP, but he's the guy still standing.

He's got two of them. His team is the top seed in the West and they're right now playing their best basketball. If you're either not paying attention or you're woefully, so you're either woefully ignorant or you're intentionally disrespectful to call him Jokic. I think you're onto something there.

Thank you. It's one of the two, if not a combination of both, right? It's possible that both things can be true there with those people because I think there are a lot of people that still haven't watched the Nuggets and are still very shocked that he is the best player in the NBA or don't want to believe that he's the best player in the NBA. So they haven't taken the time to learn his name and they're just being disrespectful. I mean Larry Bird was silky white in terms of his skin. I mean, I don't think he ever got a tan and maybe now and then, but he had an awkward shot.

He looked awkward. He's my favorite basketball player of all time. He, you wouldn't have looked at him as some great athlete, the short shorts, the, you know, whatever. He didn't look the part, but he dominated the league and he was the best player multiple years that he was in the NBA.

So looks can be deceiving. I mean, Jokic is just, he's just big, but he's also got great, great hands and great footwork. And listen, he's gotten in shape. There was a point where he was not in shape. You see the older pictures of him.

Yes. But look at how he's running the floor now, look how he's handling the ball. You bring up a great point, Amy, that people have this idea of how a basketball player should look and then how they should play. And Jokic is doing things that we haven't seen before, but he's amazing. I love watching. He is amazing.

And I like that it defies logic too, but you're right. They actually showed some photos of him from the draft and some photos going back and he was a little tubby. He definitely was, was softer. I'm not gonna say it was soft, but he was softer.

Right. So yeah, it's impressive to see his transformation now because his shoulders are so broad. He's really lean. You can tell he's in shape. You mentioned his fitness against the Lakers in game four.

He played the final 33 minutes of the game. So yeah, he, he puts a lot into it. You can see that he's done the work and that he wants to be the best player in the world or that, that that is the goal, right? The goal is to, to be able to be the best he can for his team. And he's turned himself into a guy that can beat you a variety of ways.

So no doubt about that. I keep going back to those broadcasters who admitted they don't know much or who call him Jokic. And I just think, no, like why, A, why would you ever admit that? And B, why would you essentially out yourself? Yes. Embarrass yourself that you were uninformed about this guy. Yeah.

It's, it's, it's a shame, but I think there's a lot of, I'm a diehard NBA fan, but there's a lot of casuals now that are getting on the Jokic viewership availability with these playoffs and haven't really been watching what this guy's been doing for almost three seasons now. YouTube. You see, you know what, Amy, you're like me. There's no excuses, right? You can find this out if you want to.

YouTube. Yes, I hear you. All right, coming up next, Bam Adebayo has his best game in the postseason in quite a while, but oh, some tough shooting performances tonight for the Miami Heat.

They really can't afford that. So we'll hear from Eric Spolstra and Jimmy Butler and the Heat. You can find me on Twitter, A Law Radio, also on our Facebook page. We're glad to connect with you. Oh gosh, wait until you hear tonight's show question.

It's one that's going to be fun because it's going to be a fun Friday here on the show. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. 13 seconds to go. Shot clock off.

104.93 is the count and it will end there. And the Nuggets will take the 1-0 lead in these 2023 NBA Finals. They have won all four of their Game 1s this postseason, all here at Ball Arena. They came in in the first three, outscoring their opponent by an average of 17. And they'll win this one by 11. This is the first Game 1 that Heat have lost in their last six Game 1s, including the three that preceded this one all on the road. I definitely think they came out with a lot of physicality and we have to be able to match that.

They did their job on their home floor. You have to say that, but we will be ready. Like he said, we will adjust, do some things very differently and come out here and be ready to get one for Game 2.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Jimmy Butler ends up with 13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists. So not a lot of production offensively, really, from any of the Miami Heat outside of Bam Adebayo. I would suspect, now call me crazy, that they might be a little tired. There might be, I don't want to say lack of energy, they certainly have a ton of passion, they're very tenacious still, but tired legs often lead to a lot of tired legs often lead to wide open missed shots and they had a lot of missed shots. I remember they were in Boston on Monday night and then had packed to go to Denver because, of course, that's the prudent thing to do and they believed they would win. They packed, they probably went to Denver Tuesday morning and, yes, while they've had a few days off to recover, still they have played the distance and have played tough games against Boston.

And then the emotional roller coaster too. Now I get it, these guys are used to the pressure, but they're still human beings and it's a long season and they played a lot of games. So I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little fatigue in terms of their shooting. They still worked hard, you could see it, but sometimes mental and physical fatigue lead to a lot of the work not being quite as efficient. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Eric Spolstra refused to talk about altitude, right?

He refused to acknowledge any of the conditions that might make this tougher. No excuses whatsoever, but of course you want to take everything that you learn from each game and try to apply it to the rest of the series so you can make adjustments. We're definitely going to have to go to school on it. They're in a pretty good rhythm, especially in that first half. Our disposition, the multiple efforts, the resolve in the second half was much better. But you get to this level, it has to be complete games of that kind of disposition. And even if you have that, you're not always going to win all the possessions that you want, but that's what you expect. You don't expect it to be easy when you get to this final round. This is a great challenge.

It's going to require more. We'll get to work and see what we can do better, what we can do harder, what we can do with more effort, what we can do with more focus, et cetera. They're a physical group and I think we had to adjust to their physicality early, especially myself. I mean, they had a couple of layups on me early that we had to adjust to, but it's a long series.

First of four wins, adjustments that we made, and we'll learn from this loss. They're a good team. They're well coached.

They're talented. It's going to be a challenge. It's the finals. We don't expect it any other way.

We're looking forward to game two. Gabe Vincent admitting that they had to adjust because the Nuggets are a physical team. Well, Aaron Gordon certainly is.

Bruce Brown certainly is. Jamal Murray forces you to be physical because he runs you all over the place. We know that Jokic is a load, as he points out. So you might think that Miami is more physical, but then you see the matchups, you know, the Nuggets, if they can be aggressive and stay physical, that's to their advantage. Did you happen to notice that the Heat only took two free throws in this game?

Now I saw people complaining, stop it, like as in zip it right away. Do you know what the Heat settled for over and over? Jump shots. Do you know what happens when you take jump shots? You very rarely, and not always, but you rarely end up with free throws or a lot of free throws. Free throws are generated when you take the ball and you go to the hoop, when you're aggressive. And again, that might be another indication that the team was a little bit tired because they weren't as aggressive.

They didn't force the issue and only ended up with two free throws. I'm always going to pass the ball to my teammates. I have so much belief and faith in them that they're going to take and make shots. And if they can't, then they're going to make the next play. That's how we've been playing all year long.

That's not going to change. Now that we're in the finals, maybe I have to be a little bit more aggressive. I got to put pressure on the rim. Me with no free throws, that was all on myself, nobody else.

So, you know, we'll definitely correct that next game, but only I can do that. Definitely comfortable with the shots we took. You know, I felt like we had a lot of open shots tonight. Ball just didn't go in. That's part of the game, but I feel like our shooters have bounced back. I'm not sure if you all saw this statistic, but you know, they don't get to the NBA finals if they don't have the shooting of Max Drewes and they don't have the play of Caleb Martin, who I thought should have been the Easter Conference Finals MVP. Those two guys won for 17 from the floor. Again, that is fatigue.

There is no other way that you can explain. Sure, guys are off. The shots don't always drop, but the two of them make combined. One for 17 from the floor.

Max Drewes 0 for 9 from beyond the arc. So Coach Spoe, what do you say? No, they're fine.

I mean, they're not going to get sick at sea. You know, if they're shooters, you're not always going to be able to make all the shots that you want. You know, then you have to find different ways to impact the game. Our game is not built just on the three-point ball.

You know, we've proven that time and time again. We can win games. We can win series regardless of how the three's going, but we also have ignitable guys. You see a couple go through, that all of a sudden can become an avalanche.

So one way or another, we just got to find a way to get the job done. Bam Adebayo talked about the open shots. Well, he had his best game of the postseason in probably a couple of weeks. 26 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists. So he was magnificent, but it's worth noting that the guy who was shot best from the floor was Heywood Highsmith. He didn't play a lot of minutes in the last series, so he's got fresher legs. Gabe Vincent missed a couple of games. He was also shooting 50%. A lot of the other guys were tired, and Denver takes game one. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio.