6.1.23 - JR SportBrief Hour 1

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That's S-E-E-W-H-Y. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. This is the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody locked in all over North America. Super producer and host Dave Sheppard, he's coming to you live from New York City.

And how about this? It's taken about nine days, but the Denver Nuggets are back playing basketball at home. It is game one of the NBA Finals, and the Nuggets, they are taking no prisoners. 74 to 55, the Denver Nuggets currently lead the Miami Heat, about five minutes, 20 seconds left in the game. Nikola Jokic, I mean, even at halftime, he had a double-double with assists and points. He had 10 points and 10 assists and three rebounds.

And how you gonna stop this guy? So we can throw the idea of, oh my God, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, they haven't played forever. They're going to be rusty.

They're not rusty. They're whooping their ass right now. And so we'll continue to talk about this game as it continues on. Oh, man, Denver handling the Heat easy.

What are you going to say? The Miami Heat, they're tied, right? Is that what it is? Well, that might be true. They played about four games in a time that Denver has not played at all because they could not get rid of the Boston Celtics.

But here's some facts, folks. If you don't know this already or know this by now, I said that Denver is a better team. They have the best player.

They have a deeper players or deeper roster. I still think Miami's going to pick up a game or two, but what we're seeing tonight is what I think we'll see for the majority of this series. Not a 20 point ass whooping, but I see Denver pretty much controlling this series, sans a game or two. So we'll keep you up to date as things continue to roll on. Speaking of the NBA, we have some NBA news, kinda sorta. We'll be hearing from Brad Stevens, who runs the Celtics on the status of Joe Missoula. Adam Silver, we'll hear from him momentarily. Adam Silver let everybody know about some of the going ons of the NBA. Ja Morant, what's going on with his suspension.

What the hell is going on with that referee who couldn't stay off of Twitter. And also, we're going to have a conversation with Wendell Carter Jr., who plays power forward for the Orlando Magic. And he has something pretty cool, a basketball camp with a unique twist that I want to share with everyone.

And then being the fact that he's been in the league now for about five seasons, it's crazy to believe. I'm going to ask him about Jokic and what makes Jokic so amazing. I actually put a little teaser up on social media at JR Sport Brief. So that's where you can find me.

I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram at JR Sport Brief. If you want to call us up, you can do so as well. The phone number here at CBS Sports Radio is 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. You can always listen to the show on the free Odyssey app. You can tune in on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate, Sirius XM Channel 158.

And if you have a smart speaker, you can go ahead and you can ask it to play CBS Sports Radio. Hey, Shep, how are you, man? We finally got some basketball back tonight, huh? I'm doing well, JR.

Appreciate you asking. I'm doing better than the Heat, man. How are you, my friend? I'm OK. Yeah, the Heat are getting... Well, they ran down the lead just a little... Well, not really, sorry. Denver still leading, 79 to 60. The Miami Heat forced to take a timeout here.

Anyway, I'm doing tremendous, man. And we might as well enjoy this basketball while we have it. We're going to move on from the NBA and then it will be the NBA draft.

And then we'll take a look at free agency. There will be some wild comments. Nick Nurse earlier today was introduced as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. And he was greeted kindly.

I think he was greeted kindly. And so we'll share that with you later on in the show as well. And so we got to actually enjoy what basketball we have left. Because between now and June 18th, the season is going to come to a close. It'll be a lot of off-season free agency stuff similar to the NFL. I think the NBA off-season with the free agency moves, etc.

is even wilder than the NFL. And then it's going to be time for the NFL to shine until the NBA maybe really gets into maybe Christmas time. And so let's enjoy the basketball while we have it in front of us. And one of the key things that always takes place right before the start of the NBA Finals is the press conference, kind of a state of the NBA. You get one around NBA All-Star break.

You get another one right before the finals. And so Adam Silver spoke to the media. And what are some of the most important things that you would ask Adam Silver? Well, he was asked about the coaches, all the guys who've been fired with the winning records, and he's just like, oh yeah, I feel bad for him. I have empathy, sure. They're getting paid five, six, seven, eight, nine million dollars anyway.

You can have a lot of empathy for them. And then Adam Silver didn't just stop there. Adam Silver was asked about NBA referee Eric Lewis, who reportedly has been using a burner account on Twitter. And if you don't know what the hell that means, that means he's been on Twitter posing as someone else, not himself, to just make points. Like Kevin Durant used to defend himself by using a pseudonym account. And so you have an NBA referee, Eric Lewis, who's been defending himself and other referees on social media.

Not such a bad thing to do. I think it's a waste of his own personal time. You're a referee in the NBA, why are you arguing with strangers on Twitter? But the point is, as a ref, he's not supposed to comment publicly about his calls. Leave that to the league. Let the NBA actually do that.

You're not supposed to do it. And so Adam Silver was asked about that. Eric Lewis is one of the best refs in the NBA. And Adam Silver was asked about, hey, why is he not participating in the NBA Finals? And when are we going to find out anything about it? As you can probably imagine, Adam Silver didn't have a whole lot to say about this. Listen, we decided that given that investigation was ongoing and it remains ongoing, that it wouldn't be appropriate for him to work in these finals. And I don't know what the ultimate conclusion will be.

We'll see where the facts take us. Oh, Shane, it's not a big deal, but you're a referee. You don't got nothing better to do. Like call the games, collect your paycheck and let the fans complain. Why are you everybody's looking for validation on social media, looking to explain something on social media. You're the professional. You're actually getting paid to be a ref. Why are you arguing with fans? Leave them alone.

And then even outside of that, this is the big one. Adam Silver was asked about John Moran. It's like, when are we getting the punishment? What's going on? We saw him in the car with the gun and he's, he waved it for a second. His friend cut the stupid video off.

Can't punish the friend because he's not in the NBA. But what's going on with John Moran? This is what Adam Silver had to say about that. In terms of the timing, we've uncovered a fair amount of additional information. I think since I was still asked about the situation, I would say we probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision, and I believe the Players Association agrees with us, that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of this series to announce the results of that investigation. And given that we're, of course, in the off-season, he has now been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies indefinitely, and so nothing would have changed anyway in the next few weeks.

It seemed better to park that at the moment, at least any public announcement, and my sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the Finals. Oh, this is like a precursor to the punishment. And now they've also found out, they have more information here? They have found out, what else is there to find out? That what, this was his gun, this was his weapon?

I mean, it really doesn't matter. Either way, I still think at minimum, at minimum, he should be gone half the season. And depending on whatever they uncover, I got no problem if John Moran has gone longer than that, because he's not a first-time offender, he's a first-time with issues. First time with issues, we saw his social media post, what is it, early last week, where he's telling people goodbye and he needed the wellness check at his house, he needs to go away. And so Adam Silver did his normal press conference, Adam Silver broke a little bit of news, and now we just find out about John Moran. He didn't want it to be a distraction, and is it a distraction?

I don't think so. Not when the Denver Nuggets are still out here putting about a 20-point whooping on the Miami Heat. And the current score right now, 82 to 60. Yeah, I don't see no comeback here from Miami. And so for everyone complaining about John Moran being kind of dragged through the mud and the entire suspension, whatever it might be, taking time out, no, just I think we're in a good space here as this beatdown continues. This game is going swiftly.

Hey Shep, this game is moving like a Sunday morning, man. Well, Kyle Lowry just knocked down a big three, J.R. It's now a 21-point game.

Great, yeah. The Miami Heat here have taken two free throws. Denver has taken 12. And so we don't have a lot of fouls. Denver in the first half of the game, they were shooting 60%.

They're now down to a terrible, terrible, terrible 55% from the field. And so we just got a lot of action here. The game is flowing, and it is moving, moving, moving. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS, that's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. Let's go to Lee.

Lee is calling from San Diego. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Hey, J.R., I'm wondering if you think the two best teams are actually in the NBA Finals? Well, explain to me why you would ask that question.

What do you think? And I'll give you a response. Well, whenever I think of the Denver Nuggets, I want to go to McDonald's to get a 10-piece. So I've never really respected that team, but I know they have one of the best lineups in the league. But the Miami Heat, I don't think they're the best to be in there.

But just let me know your opinion. Wait, why are you disparaging the Denver Nuggets? They have an awesome team. They have the two-time NBA MVP on the team. He's having a historical playoff run right now. He had 10 points and 10 assists in the first half of the game. What is awesome, they're beating the Miami Heat up by 20.

They were the number one seed in the West. What is so, what's so odd about the Nuggets being the best team, or one of the best teams, one or two? Well, I guess I just don't like the name.

That's the only thing I can say. Okay, you don't like a gold nugget. That bothers you. I like chicken nuggets.

I'm sure you do, Lee. Well, thank you for calling to talk about McDonald's and Nuggets. When's the last time you had a chicken nugget?

Uh, a couple weeks ago. Okay, well go easy on them, okay? Yeah. Okay, that's a lot of, a lot of giggles there. Cy, those were a whole lot of giggles.

I think he has some, uh, some other things to work on besides, uh, not liking the name. Anyway, if you don't believe the Denver Nuggets are one of the best teams in the NBA right now, what are you, what you've been watching? Have you been watching basketball? Have you been out here watching something else?

They are absolutely amazing. And the third quarter is officially done. And the Denver Nuggets, they currently lead 84 to 63. Do not, I repeat, do not expect a comeback.

Do not expect a bounce back performance. The Denver Nuggets, unless there's a miracle on hand and I don't think there is, nothing I've seen indicates so, the Denver Nuggets have their foots firmly on the necks of the Miami Heat. It's the JR Sport Reef Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. There's, there's so much more news here in the NBA. You know, as the show continues on, we'll talk about Joe Mazzola. He'll keep his job, you know, even on the NFL side, Tom Brady talked about his, his future. Is Tom Brady going to come back? He's answering that question for the millionth time.

And then a matter of fact, we're going to take a break right now. And on the other side, we're going to have a conversation with Orlando Magic Power Forward, Wendell Carter Jr. He's from right here in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a very interesting basketball camp.

I think it's an awesome idea he has this upcoming Saturday. So if you're in Atlanta, I encourage you to listen and check it out. He also has some thoughts on Nikola Jokic. And then the Magic too. Not a lot of people talking about the Magic and they ended last season on fire.

So don't move. It's the JR Sport Brief show on CBS Sports Radio. Right now, Denver leads Miami 84 to 63 at the end of three. On the other side of this break, it's a conversation with Magic Forward Wendell Carter Jr. It's the JR Sport Brief show, CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, we're getting ready for the NBA Finals, but we have to bring on an NBA player.

We have to bring on one of the emerging stars in the league right now. We're going down to Orlando, but right now we're here in Atlanta to talk to a native. It's my main man, Wendell Carter Jr. Wendell, how you doing, man?

And I'm good, man. Pleasure for y'all having me. No doubt about it. You have something pretty awesome that's going to happen here in Atlanta.

And I think we got a lot of cities that could probably follow the lead. You got a basketball camp, but it also has an educational element. We're going to get into that. NBA Finals underway. You got a Jokic here. You got a Jimmy Butler here.

You play down in Florida, other side of Florida. What are your thoughts on the Finals, man? It's going to be a good one. I think it's going to be one of those series that probably goes all seven. It's a lot of talent out there, a lot of hard workers, a lot of hard workers. So in my opinion, I think it goes to the seventh game.

And honestly, you can flip a coin to see who wins at that point. You're a big dude in the league, man. You got to face and look at Jokic. He's one of the best passing bigs of all time. How do you stop him or slow him down?

Is it impossible? He's like a wide MCA player, just busting everybody ass. Absolutely. No, he's one of those guys, when everybody asks him who is the hardest to guard. I always say Jokic because he affects the game in so many different ways. He can score all three levels and his passing is off the charts. He has a team that's around him who believes in him, believes in his style of play.

So it just makes the game a lot more easy, a lot more free for him. So yeah, Jokic is one of those guys. But he's not jumping out the gym. He's not running by you. He's not out jumping you.

So what is it? Is it just skill? Is it footwork? Is it his brain?

How does he just do that? Footwork, I think is one of his biggest things. Definitely can't run fast. He can't jump that high. His IQ for the game is really, really high. And I think he's gotten to the point. You know, in my opinion, for my five years being in the league is just he got to the point where it's like he doesn't care. Like he doesn't care if he makes a mistake, but he's going to make the right play every time. So I think he's developed that, you know, as he's, you know, been in the league for however many years. And I mean, I feel like he can still get even better in my opinion. Wow, that's crazy. Wendell Carter Jr. is here with us.

The JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio. You talk about five years being in the league. Time flies now, doesn't it, man?

You started with the Bulls, you know, with the Magic. How has that process been over five? Honestly, man, I feel like just yesterday I remember getting drafted, you know, walking across the stage, shaking Adam Silver's hand.

Now I look up on five years in going into my sixth year. It's just a blessing. I thank God every day for him putting me in this position, you know, being able to play the game I love. And, you know, I just try to go out there and do the best I can, man.

It's a lot of people who want to be in my position. So, you know, I take a lot of pride in just how I approach the game, how I train for it in the offseason and try to just give them my all every year. Over those five years, multiple offseasons, what does that look like for you to improve as a basketball player?

And then I want to ask you how you feel you've grown in five years as a person. As a basketball player, I think you pay attention to the game, right? You know, the game revolutionizes yourself in so many different ways every year. You know, it went from you want a big who can battle in the paint. And now all bids can shoot to, you know, we look at guys like Victor, like that's coming in next year. Like they want guys, big guys.

He make you and me look short. Absolutely, absolutely. Well, yeah, it's the the the league is changing so many so much every year. So it's just like you just got to try to find a way to catch the wave.

You know what I'm saying? So, you know, each year I just try to improve my game little by little. And how do you feel you've changed and grown as a person? The hope as a human is that every year you get a little better, you get a little smarter, you make better decisions. Life comes at you fast when you get into the league and exposure things that you see and used to.

How have you changed as a person in five years? You know, after being drafted to Chicago, a relatively popular city, I kind of saw everything, you know, my rookie year, you know, from money to whatever you can think of. I can think of a lot of things you might have seen. Sorry, my bad.

Go ahead. No, but I've definitely been around a lot. You know, I've had great vets.

I was in Chicago, so I was able to teach me the ropes a little bit. And, you know, as a as a person, man, I just got to the point where it's always about giving back. You know, like basketball is my true love. I love the game.

I will love it forever. But I feel like you don't really make an impact until you give, you're helping the person behind you and they help the person behind them. I think that's what life is all about. So I think in that way, I've grown. I'm a lot wiser, a lot more mature. A lot of decisions that I'm making now, I probably wouldn't have made when I was my first year coming in.

So, yeah, I've definitely changed a lot for sure. Wendell Carter Jr. is here with us. The JR Sport Brief Show on CBS Sports Radio. When you talk about giving back, you're from here in Atlanta. Went to Pace Academy. What's going on on Saturday where you're giving back through basketball and education? Tell us about that.

Yep. So this is my second annual camp on Saturday, June the 3rd. And I'm having some kids from my middle school, some kids from my high school all come in for a camp running from 8 to 4 p.m. To start off the day, we're starting with education, financial literacy, African-American studies. Two things I feel like isn't taught as much. In our school systems, one of them they're trying to erase completely. But that's the topic for another day. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Especially now with some guy in Florida.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, those are two things I feel like aren't really taught enough. Particularly financial literacy, I feel like that's something that early on kids can learn a lot. You know, not necessarily have to be an investment banker, but at least know checks and balances, how to save money, how to spend it, when you get a check, how much are you really getting, taxes, things like that. So that's kind of what I see the benefit in showing kids how money actually works. Because a lot of them don't know.

I didn't know. And then, of course, allowing them to play some basketball, get up and down, run around, have fun. But I just want to be able to show them the life of being a student athlete, because that's kind of what it is. You go to class, you got to hoop, you go to class, you got to hoop. And then just being a professional. I think one of the biggest things I can say when it comes to being a professional, you got to do things you don't want to do. And I didn't want to go to class, but I did it.

I didn't want to get up in the morning, work out, but I did it. And now I'm able to reap the rewards for that. So that's kind of my main goal for the camp, for sure.

Wendell Carter Jr. is here with CBS Sports Radio, the JR Sport Brief show. What was that driving factor, though? Like there are basketball camps going on all over the country, all over the world, and you don't get an education element to it.

What was the light bulb? Was it one particular instance or was this over a course of time where you said, I want the students, the kids to actually come in and learn something and ball? Yeah, honestly, I give a lot of credit to my mom. Growing up, I couldn't play basketball unless I came home with all A's.

So she instilled in me early education before anything. And I just see it as something as first for my camp is different. You know, I don't want to be the normal kids got to pay to come in to play basketball a little bit and then go home. You know, first off, none of the kids are paying.

You know, I don't see this as a financial gain at all. You know, I just want kids to be able to come in and like relax, you know, because, you know, a lot of the kids that's coming, you know, they come from rough backgrounds, you know, telling what's going on in their homes and things like that. So, you know, I just see it as an opportunity. Just, you know, just help out. Just if I can just help out by one percent, I feel like I've won for sure.

That's a win. I think everything is all about giving back. Where can people find out more information? They can go to platformsquared.org, sign up there. They can see more about my foundation, more about the other things I've done in the community, both in Orlando and Atlanta. So, yeah, that's about it. Speaking of Orlando, not a lot of people have been talking about y'all, especially the way the season started last year and the way the season ended.

Yeah. We see Paulo, we see Cole, we see you, we got Suggs. I'm starting leaving folks out, Franz, y'all got a lot of talent on the team. For sure. What's going to change and how are y'all going to sneak up on people?

What don't folks know about the Magic? Oh, we coming. We got a squad and I think our biggest thing last year was injuries. With us being such a young group, I don't want to say you expect that, but it's a different type of play.

You come from college or wherever they came from and they come into the league playing 82 games. You playing every other night, so it's a little shock to the body, but I feel like going into next year, we've made a pledge to one another that we at least come into the year healthy, feeling good, and I think the sky's the limit for us, man. We got a group of young guys who have no egos. All of our goal is to win.

We watching these players, we all hitting each other. Man, this can be us. This can be us as soon as next year. We ain't got to wait. Let's do it, so I think we're going to be good. Wandell Carter Jr. is here with us, CBS Sports Radio.

I was going to ask you that. Part of the process I feel for a young team is you finally get to the playoffs, you get with that taste of experiences. Sometimes you get punched in the mouth and you come back stronger. When you're sitting down and you're watching these NBA Finals and you're watching these playoffs, is it motivating you to go to the gym? Are you picking up things on how these teams play?

What's the biggest element you get from just watching? The style of play is so much different. I've actually been to a playoff game last year.

I think there was Dallas versus Phoenix, and I think it was a game 7-2. When I say the energy is so much different, so much different from the fans, the players, the players are chirping back and forth, the fans are in the stands going at each other. It's a whole different type of energy, and I just want to be a part of it at some point. You know what I'm saying?

I can dig it. Well, listen, man. You're from here in Atlanta, a totally different energy. It's cool that you're bringing your academy and just to camp here on Saturday. What has Atlanta done for you?

How has it shaped you as a person and who you are today? Man, where did I start, man? Atlanta is home. When I come home, man, I see so many people. I can just go to the grocery store and I see a person that I met when I was 11, 12 years old, and they all support me. They're all behind me, man, and I can't ask for much more than that.

I can dig it. The magic of coming, your campus coming. Tell everybody one more time how they can check it out and find out more information. To a platformsquared.org, you can find out more about my foundation, the camp this Saturday, everything else.

Good on this man, doing something good for the community. You heard it here first. We see the nuggets. We see the magic of coming. Yeah, we coming.

We on the way. Thank you so much to Wendell Carter Jr. of the Orlando Magic. This is the JR Sport Brief Show on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. JR wants to hear from you. Call him now at 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4227. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Thank you so much to Orlando Magic Power Forward Wendell Carter Jr. for joining us here in the prior break, doing some amazing things here in Atlanta with his basketball camp, putting some educational elements to go along with the actual basketball.

And so we'll talk more about that later in the show. But as of right now, we got a final score. Game one of the NBA Finals is a wrap. The Denver Nuggets, they win 104 to 93. Miami was able to close the gap just a little bit outside of the 20 points that was pretty much prevalent throughout the course of the game. Miami stunk tonight. Jimmy Butler, only 13 points. The Miami Heat only went to the free throw line, an NBA record low two times.

I wish, I absolutely wish I was telling you a lie. This is even hard to believe. A basketball team in the NBA playoffs, the finals, forget it, any, any game. Miami only went to the free throw line twice. The Denver Nuggets went to the free throw line 20 times. And the Miami Heat, they took 39 threes, 39 threes.

They only made 13 of them. And from the field overall, the Miami Heat shot 40 percent. The Denver Nuggets blew them out. Okay, I don't care if it's an 11 point disparity looking at the final score.

They whooped that ass. The largest lead here for the Denver Nuggets at one point, they led by 24 points and they destroyed them. And Nikola Jokic, 14 assists. That's the most assists ever by anybody in their NBA Finals debut. And then outside of that, Nikola Jokic, his numbers in total. Look at this, 27 points, 14 assists, to go along with 10 rebounds. Nikola Jokic is out here just abusing folks. He, at halftime, Nikola Jokic had 10 assists to go along with 10 points.

Jamal Murray had 26, Aaron Gordon had 16, Michael Porter Jr. had 14. And I can tell you this, just as I ain't play basketball at no damn professional level, but when you're running around just jacking up threes, and for the Miami Heat to never, never, or not even attempt more than two free throws, they weren't going to the basket. They were just jacking up shots, and people jack up shots when they're tired. That's just what it is. When you're tired, when you're gassed, man, it takes a lot of energy to explode to the basket. It's a sprint, and it's not just a sprint.

You're being pushed and shoved along the way. You have to elevate and jump in the air to complete the layup or the attempt or the shot. It takes a lot of energy to just continually go to the basket.

It's a whole lot easier to just, just pull up and take a shot. And the Miami Heat did a lot of that. Bam Adebayo leading the way with 26 points. Caleb Martin, the hero in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, he only finishes with three points. Max Struce, my god, just my god, he had zero points tonight. He was 0 of 10. Of those 10, nine of those shots were threes, which means he was 0 of 9 from downtown. Gabe Vincent had 19. Highsmith off the bench for the Miami Heat. He had 18. Kyle Lowry had 11.

And a whole lot of this did not matter. This was, uh, this was an ass-whooping and I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I expected a complete beat-down. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I'll tell you this much. I told you I got the Denver Nuggets win in the series and that's because they got the best player on the court on the floor. His name is Nikola Jokic and at the end of the game, we saw the other Nikola on the floor. Jokic showed up and played one minute of garbage time for the Miami Heat and I don't know if this is something that we should get used to, but Denver's going to win this series, folks. Unless we have an injury, unless somebody gets hurt, this is what it's going to be. The Miami Heat, they play hard, they don't quit, they give up. Are they going to play as bad in the next game as they did today?

I doubt it. How can anybody wake up and just only shoot two free throws? We heard so much about the altitude and so much about whether or not the Denver Nuggets were going to be rusty or were the Miami Heat going to be tired.

Well, there's going to be a lot of folks rolling with the tired one. In the Miami Heat, we're going to hear from them as the night goes by. We're going to hear from them as the night goes on. I can tell you something right now, the Miami Heat are not going to make excuses. They're not going to talk about the altitude. Their head coach, Eric Spolstra, was talking about, hey, I don't care.

We can tip off on Mount Everest. We're not going to make excuses. We're going to go out there and play ball.

And they did, except for they sucked. Nikolai Jokic, he just spoke on ABC to Lisa Salters. And this is what was said.

Take a listen. Nicole, there was some concern, even among your own coaching staff, about being sharp because of all the time off. But you guys were rolling from the initial tip.

Just what was working tonight? You know, we respect that team a lot. They fight, they never quit. And we just wanted to get the first punch, you know.

The first three rounds, they won their first game when they travel and they play on the road. And we didn't want that to happen. And I think we did a good job, you know, to hold that team to 93 points.

I think it's a really good job. Another triple-double for you. Your teammates describe you as a maestro. Entering the fourth quarter, you'd only taken five shots. But yet, you were dominating the game.

How do you do that? Right now, the most important thing is to win the game. And I'm trying to win again in any possible way. I don't need to shoot and I don't need to score.

I know I don't need to score to stack the game. And I think I did a good job today. Everybody contributed.

A.G., Jamal, Mike, everybody who played contributed. And it's a great win for us. It's a damn good one.

It's a great one. And he made an excellent point. He actually echoed a point made by head coach Mike Malone before the game started in the locker room. And of course, there's always cameras in the locker room now. Mike Malone made a point to let everybody know that throughout the course of the playoffs, that the Miami Heat would go out onto the road and they beat all of their opponents to start the series off. Even most recently here, obviously, with the Celtics who went down into an 0-3 hole. And so Nikolay Jokic echoing the sentiments of his head coach, like, hey, we wanted to go ahead and make a statement here at home.

And a statement is exactly what he did. And Nikolay Jokic tonight, with his 27 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds, is only the second dude in NBA history to have a triple-double in his finals debut. The other dude, he's a damn good guy. I felt like he was a walking team by himself. That was Jason Kidd. And to look at a seven-foot tall freak in Jokic who can command a game the way that he does and make the passes that he does is pretty awesome. You know, towards the end of this game, it looked like there was a sliver, a sliver of light.

Not the door wasn't open, it wasn't cracked, but there was just a sliver where you said, oh, man, Miami, if they get a bunch of shots in and if Denver turns the ball over a couple times, then maybe Miami can get back into this game. Nikolay Jokic, there's a wild play. Nikolay Jokic got the ball, he dribbled it up court, he told his guys, hey, let's just, let's slow things down. We're winning.

We're in command. And in the process of him telling them, hey, let's slow things down and relax, we got the lead, he rifled a pass right under the basket. I think it was Aaron Gordon who went up quickly and got fouled. This man sees and knows everything that's going out there on the court. And there's no way I want to compare Jokic to Jason Kidd.

Not the same type of player, different type of athletes, they operate in a different speed. But I'll tell you this, every time I watch Jason Kidd play basketball, he was the biggest threat, one of the biggest threats I've seen, not from a defensive standpoint, and he was an amazing defender. Big, strong, could go and steal the ball, initiate a fast break, get a rebound, do whatever he wanted to. But he's someone that I always looked at who could command the game, be a maestro, go out there and be a puppeteer, be a conductor without having to go out there and just jack up shots. Without having to go out there and just take threes and dribble around and try to be an offensive juggernaut by putting the ball in the basket. Nikola Jokic is similar in that same way. He doesn't have to jack up shots. He was 8 of 12 from the field tonight, 1 of 2 from downtown, and Nikola Jokic can just command the game. He's a beautiful thing to watch. It's going to be awesome to see this series continue on.

I think we got a whole lot more of this on the way. I think Miami will pick up a game or two, but this series, this finals, I think is going to be the wake up. Nikola Jokic, if you haven't seen him, if you didn't see the two MVP seasons, if you didn't get what the whole fuss was, where he stat patted or whatever the hell Kendrick Perkins or anybody wanted to say earlier this year. If you haven't been paying attention, this dude is special.

He's special, and he's something the NBA has not seen, I don't want to say ever, but it might be the case. It's the JR Sport Reshow here on CBS Sports Radio, the Denver Nuggets win Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 1 on 1 to 93. We're going to hear from more of the players, we're going to get some plays, and we'll hear from you on the other side.

Don't move. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.