Scott Hastings, Denver Nuggets TV Analyst

Scott, appreciate the time. How are you? Doing good, Zach. How about yourself? Well, I'm doing fantastic. I know Murray did not play great in Game 2, but it's been so awesome to see him back and contributing in the postseason.

Yeah, you know, it's amazing. It was nearly a thousand days in between the playoff appearances. You know, they were in the bubble and the quote-unquote bubble Murray terminology came out. And then the next year, as you said, they're rolling. He tears his ACL, is out the following next year, and then Porter gets hurt. And so they're in the playoffs the second year now without Murray. And the second year is without Porter as well. And, you know, I've been reading an article in the San Francisco paper. It says, you know, the Golden State Warriors were doing a good job controlling Nicole Yogić and dah, dah, dah. And I'm like, he averaged 28, 13 and a half and nine.

I don't know about control, but you need another dog or two. And that has been missing. It's been good to see. I still think he's getting his legs underneath him. I still think he's, you know, getting his postseason body right. As you've seen in all the playoffs, Zach, I mean, it has gotten 10 times more physical, uh, than the regular season.

In fact, I asked Michael blown who I, I played for his dad was assistant goats in Detroit. And I said, could you play 82 games? Could, could the guys, they go, you think they could just, but to be honest with you, I'm not sure you could, there'd be way too many people out to me, many injuries.

So it's a lot more physical. They're letting guys leave and rest on you. And both Minnesota now Phoenix are putting bigger, thicker guys, if you will have your bodies, or at least taller bodies on Murray the entire time he's on the floor. Does this Denver team, do you sense a chip on their shoulder? Cause heading into the postseason, they had a wonderful regular season. It seems like everyone was trying to find the reason to not pick them to go to the finals.

Yeah, I don't know. You know, they, they, they, they played Memphis, uh, about 20, some 20 games or so left to go in the season, maybe, maybe under that. And it was the number one, number two, and that's where Memphis was, you know, still within reach and, and Denver pounded them in Denver and they kind of put it on cruise control the end of the season. Uh, I think it turned off a bunch of people as far as Nicola for MVP. It scared a lot of fans of this team. What are they doing?

Oh, they're not as good. And it probably hurt them a little bit. Um, so yeah, I think they probably got a little chip. Um, I think they were waiting, I think, and this is, this is maturity and growth of the team, as you mentioned, drafted well, put together well, the right free agents, good trades.

Um, you gotta go through a little adversity. They've done that, but you also got to get to a mindset where let's get through the regular season, but let's win the playoffs. And they were able to get the number one record. They held on long enough, did that. Um, you know, they played the first series.

I would bet. And I haven't looked that there's never been a number one seed in the East or West that was relegated to, you know, 10, 10 or 10 30 starts Eastern times every single game in the first round. And I think every game, except for the game one, they played at, uh, at six Denver.

So when I guess it's still BA, it'd be eight o'clock. So they played a one game in prime time in East coast, East coast time. And I don't know any other number one seed that's ever done that. So yeah.

Do they have a little chip probably? Um, but they also got some real good players. They got a determined coach and they, and they just got some nice pieces that, that fit with the stars. It's also so bizarre to me, the conversation around the joker, Nicole Jokic, where he wins the MVP back to back seasons. And he's had a great year this year. It seems like people are still so critical of his game, trying to find reasons why he shouldn't have won the MVP. And the thing that I can't stand the most Scott Hastings is people say that his game is boring.

Like I just don't get that stuff. Well, then it's probably people that didn't watch magic Johnson play, uh, probably didn't watch Larry bird play. Probably didn't watch, you know, stocked into Malone play probably didn't watch some of the all time great guys that have hall of fame jackets. Um, because the one thing, and I you've heard this least when I was a kid, used to talk about baseball players, but he just made that, that hard play look easy. And we were amazed at that center fielder with kitty kid, Griffey jr. Could spread down a shot in the middle and all sudden glove. And you're like, how'd he get there? He made that look so easy.

And anybody who's ever tried to play outfield in baseball, and I only went to Legion, dude, that's amazing. I think he just makes hard plays look easy. He plays a little bit of a YMCA game. He plays a little bit of the, you know, a game below the rim and for guys my age.

And I remember talking to the late grade Eddie Sutton one time about basketball. And he said, this is basketball the way we were taught how to play all below the rim. And he dunks it. They can't dunk it, but, but he dominates below the rim. Jeff ruling. How can you rebound when you can't jump?

He goes, cause 90% of the rebounds are below the rim. It's, it's an old school theory that's working in the flash and pump and circumstance of the ESPN worlds that if it isn't shiny and bright, it must not be any good. When did you know that he was going to be great, Nicole Jokic watching him?

Probably his second year. I remember, and I'm seeing him do what the world's seeing him do now. And I'm going, Oh my gosh.

I mean, I haven't seen guys do, I've not seen a big man with the vision that he has, you know, ever. And I remember we're playing a game against the Pacers and we're actually in London. And one of my former teammates is there, Isaiah Thomas, who I, I respect his opinion on basketball. And I said, I die.

I was there before the game. I said, watch this kid named joker, a joker. I said, watch him. I said, I think he's got a chance to be the best player that's ever played for the Denver nuggets. Now, you know, the nuggets have got, you know, insulin, Alex English is in the hall of fame, fat lever with, you know, wrote the code on triple doubles back in his day. Um, I said, but watch him.

I think he's going to be the best that's ever played here. And so games going on, they're killing them. He's doing crazy things. I think he throws to an over the head, uh, not looking back past lob to Kenneth three to Duncan.

I mean, it was just stupid stuff. So we get Isaiah on in the third quarter. And I said, well, what'd you think guy? Pretty good. I said, he reminds me maybe of a flatty or, you know, Sabona and he goes, nah, he's magic Johnson.

Wow. That's how this kid plays. And this was, this is what probably second or third year in the league or something like that. Um, he, he, he's, he's any, and you know what, on top of it, he's a good guy in all this stuff. You know, uh, the people try to say what he says, somebody asked him after game one, what do you think about the MVP?

How much, how much percentage of the time are you thinking about this? And he went zero. Now it's a cute sound bite and everybody gets to play it, but guess what? That's crew. I remember early in his career, we're in Los Angeles, you know, the league, the stack. So, so just keep this and keep this in mind. We're in Los Angeles. Just beat the Lakers in LA. It's like a Saturday night. We're not flying out till Sunday. So you're an NBA team that just beat the Lakers in LA.

And you have a Saturday night off in Los Angeles. I'm going out. I'll tell you that Scott. Okay. Okay. Joker's the only player that made the bus ride back to the hotel with all the slugs.

That's media slugs, right? And when I saw him get on the, on the bus with us, I went, I said, okay, this cat's different. This, this cat's different. He he's, he's married, has a daughter. We saw the pictures of him waving to his daughter the other day.

So cool. Uh, he, he wears his wedding ring tied to his shoes. Like it's 19, you know, 68, right.

Or they're 55 or whatever. He's got his ring tied to his shoe when he plays every single night. He's a different breed of guy. He's legit. I think part of the reason the machinery didn't want him to win the MVP this year, uh, was because he doesn't do the talk shows. He doesn't, you know, he's not going to come in live and have a press conference and bring everybody in. He, you know, they gave him as his trophy last year as he's coming in from, uh, riding his horses in Serbia, you know, he, he, he, he doesn't care. The early this year, you know, I know I'm long winded.

I apologize. He gave a story earlier this year. They're giving him for the playoffs. And he goes, you know, w what do you know about winning a championship? And he goes, nothing. I said, I have, I haven't won anything yet. Go talk to Christian Brown. He just won the NCAA championship. He knows about winning championships. Wow.

And I went, wow. I mean, this guy's making, you know, buku monies and MVPs and all star kids want to, you know, awareness jerseys around town, blah, blah, blah. And he's saying, go talk to this rookie. He won a championship just this past year with Kansas. He knows what it takes to win a championship. Scott Hastings.

I got to ask you about from the sun side of it. They're down. Oh, two. Uh, now Chris Paul is hurt. They haven't had a lot of time to gel. Can you make an argument, how they find a way to not only get back in the series, but take command of the series?

Cause I don't see it. Well, the, the, um, they've got to shoot. Well, listen, they got beat by 18 in game one and they shot 52%. I was going to say they got to shoot better. It's it's who controls possessions, who controls rebounds.

Defense doesn't stop to your rebound. You know, Monty was, was really propping up his team. Look what we did. We, we held this team to 97. I was like, but you only scored 87.

I mean, I don't know how good of accomplishment that was. I think they're a high scoring, big team. They averaged 122 against the Clippers.

There was an old saying when I grew up that said, sometimes you just got to dance with the one that brung you. They're a scoring juggernaut and they're trying to bring in their own form of defense into this series. And I think it's affecting what they do best.

And that's just score. So for them to get back in the series, I think they got to make this 130, 125 type of series, which would be real entertaining for the fans. Uh, but I think that's what they got to do.

And it'll be interesting going forward without Chris Paul, because now you got Booker and Duran high volume guys. Is it your turn? My turn? Is there going to be, let me get mine. You know, what are you going to do? It's, it's really an interesting time that Denver can find a way to win tomorrow.

Uh, this thing could be short-lived. Scott Hastings. Appreciate the time as always. Thanks so much for doing this. Anytime, buddy. We'll talk to you later.