Nuggets
The Bol Bol show is officially the summer blockbuster we’ve all been waiting for. The 7-foot-2 rookie made his NBA debut on Wednesday as the Nuggets beat the Washington Wizards 89-82 in the teams’ first scrimmage of the NBA restart.
Bol finished the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. But that only tells part of the story. The opening act was Denver’s crazy tall lineup (PG – Nikola Jokic, SG – Jerami Grant, SF – Bol, PF – Paul Millsap, C – Mason Plumlee), with no player shorter than 6-8. Next came Bol blocking shots and running the length of the court and knocking down threes.
Bol was one of the top high school recruits and likely would have been one of the top picks in the NBA Draft last year if not for injuries that saw him drop all the way to the Nuggets in the second round.
It’s obviously way too early to get too excited, but especially considering it had been 133 days since the Nuggets last played a game Bol definitely gave Denver fans something to cheer about.
- The Denver Post is reporting that rookie Michael Porter Jr. is en route to the NBA bubble in Orlando. With the Nuggets being shorthanded this obviously is great news for the team. Now the question is “How will Porter handle no longer being the most hyped rookie on the team?”
- TheDNVR.com’s Adam Mares broke down various plays of Bol’s and it’s clear, Bol is overflowing with talent.
Avalanche
The NHL always has been more secretive than most leagues when it comes to injuries. In the past players were simply described as having upper or lower body injuries, the league’s new policy to help protect player’s medical privacy during the coronavirus pandemic is even more vague unfortunately.
Colorado Cale Makar missed his third day of practice, as he’s deemed “unfit” to play. Head coach Jared Bednar did not elaborate on when he would be available.
Although, Nathan MacKinnon did tell The Denver Post “I think Cale will be healthy soon, he should be ready to go.”
Here’s hoping MacKinnon’s right, because Makar was a big reason for the Avs’ success in the playoffs last season.
Rockies
In the Rockies’ second and last exhibition game Antonio Senzatela pitched well and Colorado beat Texas 7-3 on Wednesday night. Next up the two teams play for real on Friday night.
Senzatela worked five innings and allowed three runs and picked up the win. On the offensive side Ryan McMahon and Drew Butera homered for the Rockies.
- Reliever Scott Oberg will begin the season the the 10-day injured list with with a sore back. Meanwhile the Rockies decided to carry three catchers to start things off as Butera and Elias Díaz both made the team as backups to starter Tony Wolters.
- SI.com has a big story up about Colorado reliever Daniel Bard‘s long road back from having the pitching yips.
Broncos
The Denver Post continues its look at the Broncos roster, going position-by-position, today focusing on the tight ends.
My thoughts: The TEs could be the difference in this team going 8-8 or stepping up and making the playoffs. There’s so much potential, starting with Noah Fant in particular.
As a rookie Fant had moments where he looked like a future Pro Bowler and potential All-NFL teamer. Unfortunately there were quite a few drops and missed blocks sprinkled in there. The blocks might have been more the coaching staff’s fault for putting the then rookie in bad situations. The drops on the other hand simply need to be corrected.
But if Fant continues to grow and they just get one or two other guys to raise their game a little the tight end position could be a major strength for the 2020 Denver Broncos.
- The Broncos signed seven of their draft picks on Wednesday, while they still are working on signing receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler.
- The Athletic wrote about potential starting center Lloyd Cushenberry.
Rapids
Colorado departed the MLS is Back Tournament with a 2-2 draw against Minnesota United on Wednesday night.
Colorado’s Kei Kamara got things started with a goal at the 19-minute mark, it was the 1,000th regular-season goal in Rapids’ history. However, Minnesota took a 2-1 lead into the break.
Rapids sub Jonathan Lewis scored the equalizer for Colorado at the 59-minute mark and that’s how things ended.
The Rapids were officially eliminated earlier in the day when Sporting Kansas City beat Real Salt Lake 2-0. Colorado is now 2-2-1 on the season.
CSU Rams
Colorado State landed four players on the preseason All-MWC team, the most for the team since 2012.
