several stretches where it looked like the Clippers were in the driver’s seat when the Nuggets ripped the game open with an 18-0 run and counterpunches thrown throughout the series’ first six games washed away and offensive firepower were suddenly rendered meaningless against Denver’s championship DNA and stingy defense that junked up the game with an active zone The way they won was weird, though. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had poor, inefficient games (by their standards), aided by a puzzling no-show from a Clippers offense that finished 8-for-27 behind the arc after getting whatever shot it wanted in the series' first few games. (Heading into Game 7, L.A.’s offensive rating was tied with the Indiana Pacers for second best in the postseason.) Kawhi Leonard finished with 22 points in a performance that wasn’t nearly enough He was ultimately outplayed by Aaron Gordon who worked him over a few times in the paint James Harden did not outrun his big-game ghosts making just two baskets and attempting only two free throws after an aggressive Game 6 The Nuggets threw two defenders at him quite a bit finishing with 13 assists and two turnovers but Harden also missed a few makeable shots at the basket that immediately turned into fast-break opportunities for Denver—backbreaking sequences that L.A but this series felt like such a wasted opportunity for the Clippers having seemingly figured the Nuggets out after the first three games knowing there was no rotation-related button for them to press It’s also the end of a season in which they overachieved for the first time since Kawhi climbed aboard once they take a few weeks to reflect back on everything that happened this year some confidence in knowing Leonard’s body held up when it mattered most and its net rating was tied with the Sacramento Kings as thin and flawed and almost universally dependent on Jokic as they might be there would be no conference semifinals without how they played at the very end of the regular season in must-win games to avoid a potential drop into the play-in tournament “The last three games we won in the regular season to give ourselves a chance to be in this building for this kind of game is a huge deal,” he said Now they face the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder a buzz saw that barely broke a sweat in a first-round sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies and armed with a roster that was intentionally built to make Jokic’s life miserable The Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein for a few reasons but the most important is the heft he’s able to provide in this specific playoff matchup allowing Chet Holmgren to roam off Gordon and not get pummeled in the post Similar to the Clippers, the Thunder have a long, punishing, scrappy defense that lives to force turnovers and protect the rim. They don’t care about limiting 3s so much as making their opponent work exceptionally hard to create open ones. It’s a fascinating uphill battle for the Nuggets: an elite offense that eschews outside shots for lob dunks and cutting layups. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a maestro. Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso will do everything in their power to curtail Murray’s production, and the Murray-Jokic two-man game will have its work cut out for it against a team that will study how the Clippers switched that action and believes it can have just as much success doing so. The Nuggets have a few cards to play, with Gordon as a backup 5 and more non-Jokic lineups that feature multiple starters.  But this is by far the most impressive team Denver has faced in the playoffs since Jokic and Murray have been teammates. Victory isn’t impossible, though the Nuggets will need the exact type of group effort that was on display in Game 7—for just about every possession—to prevail. “This is a memorable series,” Adelman said on Saturday night. “We just don't really have time right now to remember it. Enjoy tonight. You know, have a glass of red wine or whatever you like doing. But we fly to OKC tomorrow.” ArchiveWe’ve been around since Brady was a QB The Denver Nuggets were pushed to a seventh game in the first round but shook off the ghosts of playoffs past to get the win Denver travels to Oklahoma City for Game 1 of the series on Monday up until a Game 7 when there would be a couple days of rest All times are Eastern (* = if necessary)Game 1: Nuggets at Thunder (Mon While Mark Daigneault and crew will study Jeff Van Gundy’s solid game plans against Jokic from the first round — with Isaiah Hartenstein trying to fill the Ivica Zubac role — the simple fact is Jokic is the best basketball player on planet earth right now and there is only so much any human being can do for the Nuggets to have a chance in this series That peak Murray appeared in spots against the Clippers — such as Game 4 when he had 43 points and 7 assists — but he has not been around consistently all season (or in the last series) Now Murray is going to have to do it with Lu Dort Alex Caruso and other elite defenders focused on him The Nuggets’ long-running issues when Nikola Jokic is off the court are no secret and that played out again this past regular season with Denver having a -8.3 net rating when Jokic sat In the first round of the playoffs against the Clippers that climbed to a -26.4 net rating without Jokic and if Oklahoma City can dominate the non-Jokic minutes at the level Los Angeles did or more even if those non-Jokic minutes are limited the NBA will announce the winner of the MVP award for this season and Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will finish 1-2 likely with Gilgeous-Alexander winning his first-ever award That should light a fire under Jokic and the Nuggets the Nuggets don’t have a defender who can keep him out of the paint While Denver will throw multiple players at SGA to slow him that opens the door for Jalen Williams and others to step up for the Thunder.—Kurt Helin With Christian Braun taking a leap and Jamal Murray healthier this Nuggets team isn’t really any worse than last year’s team that entered the playoffs the clear favorite to win the West Jokic provides the highest floor any offense can have and Denver won’t be overwhelmed by OKC’s size But OKC are in a tier of their own in the West - the greatest net rating of all time speaks for itself Expect Murray to struggle with the army of elite perimeter defender OKC can throw at him and for the Nuggets to eventually run out of gas playing effectively a 6-man rotation considering the effort that Denver has already expended in these playoffs and their inability to match the double big lineups that the Thunder have been deploying It’s not a huge gap in terms of net rating for the best five here so would be reasonable if Denver gets one early or at home before fading The Nuggets did well in splitting the season series with the Thunder 2-2 This will be an interesting series to call given that Dave Adelman was not the head coach during any of the four meetings against the Thunder Mike Malone’s approach was simple: Limit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact on the game and force others to beat you If the Thunder got big games from Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams How Adelman will try to slow down this potent Thunder attack will be vital to their success They win game one by margin after the Nuggets just went seven games in an intense and physical series with the Clippers They win the next home game and lose in Denver in game three when the Nuggets avoid a 3-0 series deficit as well as some scouts and front office people around the NBA who still don’t believe in Oklahoma City as a contender and think this is the series where OKC gets tested and probably exposed by a proven they defend at an elite level and can beat teams a lot of different ways I saw the Nuggets in person three times in the first round and came away thinking “This is not a championship team this season.” Here is where Denver’s ride ends in a series where Denver will sell out to stop SGA and get beat by Jalen Williams A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome If you or someone you know has a gambling problem Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Few knew what to expect from Nix in his first NFL season There were expected to be growing pains with the long-time college quarterback who was the sixth quarterback chosen in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft Who will the Broncos play during the 2025 NFL season Here's their full list of opponents as the NFL's schedule release approaches BRONCOS TICKETS: Buy tickets to 2025 Denver Broncos games Broncos 2025 opponentsHere's the full list of Broncos opponents for 2025: the Broncos are set to face their AFC West divisional opponents twice during the 2025 NFL season They will also play each AFC South and NFC East team as part of the league's yearly rotating schedule The Broncos' final three opponents – the Bengals Jets and Packers – were determined based on Denver's third-place finish in its division last season The NFL is set to reveal its 2025 schedule in full on Wednesday the NFL will reveal its entire 18-week slate of matchups and bye weeks for each team This year's schedule release will be held one day earlier than last year's The NFL announced the full 2024 schedule at 8 p.m so fans can expect a similar release time for this year's schedule DENVER — A spring storm system is set to bring periods of heavy rain in the Denver metro and I-25 corridor with wet heavy snow forecast for Colorado’s mountains where a winter storm warning will go into effect for up to 2 feet of accumulation in spots dry days – temperatures will drop with Denver’s high on Tuesday expected to barely reach 50 degrees and again stay in the 50s on Wednesday before conditions dry out starting late Wednesday into Thursday The winter storm warning was upgraded from an earlier winter storm watch Portions of the Northern and Southern Front Range Foothills go under a winter weather advisory for snowfall acumulations up to 7 inches including I-70 east of the Eisenhower Tunnel and Highway 14 over and east of Cameron Pass The hazardous conditions will impact the late Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening commutes,” said NWS forecasters Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo said the wet weather will stick around in the metro’s forecast for the next several days “Scattered showers and thunderstorms will start to pop up Monday afternoon and the heaviest rain is going to fall on Tuesday with Colorado’s Plains looking to see around 1 to 2 inches of rain by Wednesday night,” said Hidalgo “We have a low risk of severe weather with more wet weather in Denver expected overnight and then definitely looking at wet roads for the morning commute Tuesday." Denver should see between 1 and 2 inches of rain with heavier rain and snow amounts expected west and south of the metro Here are potential rain totals through Wednesday from the NWS The rain is expected to pick up in intensity across the Front Range during the day on Tuesday Hidalgo said there is a possibility communities along the Palmer Divide could see a rain-snow mix NWS forecasters said heavy snow is possible by Tuesday evening down to around 7,500 to 8,000 feet in the Foothills “Definitely looking at some slushier conditions for the Foothills Skies will gradually start to clear out late in the day on Wednesday but we’ll still see more cloud cover and a chance for showers early Wednesday before drier weather starts to settle in,” added Hidalgo After several soggy days, temperatures rebound into the mid-60s on Thursday in Denver before reaching the 70s on Friday.Denver’s weather forecast for the weekend looks nice with warmer temps and more sunshine on both days.Saturday’s high should reach near 74 degrees and then 76 degrees with mostly sunny skies on Sunday in Denver April in Denver was the 12th driest on record. According to NWS stats, the city only received 2.2” of snow Denver’s official rain gauge only saw a half inch of rain As for the Denver's snow totals for the season the season's cumulative total is down 7.2" from normal Denver's snow gauge should be at around 54.9" for the season with the 2024-25 total coming in at 47.7 Denver's monthly snowfall total for the month of May is only 1.7" Denver7 is tracking how this snow season compares to previous years. Check Colorado snow statistics in the graphic below or in fullscreen mode by clicking this link. Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.  Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton earned his sixth win of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship with a command performance at the Denver Supercross that saw his lead stretch in excess of 10 seconds The victory brings with it valuable points as Sexton now sits just nine points back in the title hunt with only one round remaining Empower Field at Mile High delivered thrilling race action to fans of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Denver hosted the penultimate round of the season with next weekend’s finale taking place in Salt Lake City Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb held on under intense pressure to take second place at Empower Field at Mile High and retain the points lead over Sexton Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper recovered brilliantly from a 12th place start to catch both Webb and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart in the closing laps Cooper passed Stewart as the race clock reached zero The three riders held in tight formation for the final two laps with Justin Cooper earning his third podium of the season Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan grabbed the win and with it his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship by using an aggressive pass late in the race that created conflicting – and very vocal – reactions from the fans [Cooper Webb] crossed on me pretty hard on the start [in the first rhythm section] so I wanted to get out front and break away just trying to go out there and show that I’m the best rider.” – Chase Sexton I feel like that was just hard racing and I had position [and] I was trying to get Malcolm early [I’ve] been a little under the weather today really struggled so to be able to get second tonight I was holding on by dear life there at the end and we’ll carry this little bit of a lead going into Salt Lake and do what we need to do… I’ve always really enjoyed Salt Lake I just need to get rested and recovered and come back swinging next Saturday.” – Cooper Webb “It was tough because it was a disappointing start for me I actually put it in second gear on the gate when the board went sideways so it was just a habit [to click up to second] shifted down to first and I think it upset my start a little bit so I was buried At altitude it’s a little bit tougher fitness-wise so I feel like I came from outside the top ten I [could see] the podium pretty much the whole race That’s kinda where my eyes were at and just kept focusing on that [I] was able to get the pass around the outside with Malcolm around one minute to go In the process we were sneaking up on Coop and it turned into a three-way battle there so with all that going on it just escalated it that much more I’m really proud of myself for getting this done.” – Justin Cooper Haiden Deegan entered the Denver Round with a 17 point lead over teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies Davies grabbed the holeshot and looked to have the pace to make it three wins in a row for the rookie Just before the race’s midpoint Deegan took over second place from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Michael Mosiman and began to steadily reel in Davies who would have to finish in fourth or better to force the championship to the final round Deegan reached Davies and put in a few close pass attempts With two laps remaining Deegan upped the aggression and made a pass that sent Davies over the berm By the rulebook Deegan clinched the title due to a 25-point lead Even if Davies wins the final round and Deegan earns zero points the championship tiebreaker would be the rider with more second place finishes Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer earned the second-place spot in Denver after fighting his way forward from an eighth place start Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks rounded out the podium having a similar charge through the pack to recover nicely from his ninth-place start along with the Eastern Divisional 250SX Class 250SX Class East/West Showdown next Saturday night This [Championship] means a lot to me because people doubted me all the way They [were] telling me I was all hype coming into Supercross and motocross They’re just mad that I’m him and they’ve got to deal with it… We the champ now baby!… [When asked specifically about the pass] Yeah Good job to Cole and a good race.” – Haiden Deegan “I did a lot of work these last three weeks in that break [for the West Division] and just tried to get back to myself the guy that I was in the first part of this season I think I showed I’m back this weekend and I’m ready to fight for another one in Salt Lake… Also He deserves this championship.” – Julien Beaumer I was hoping to carry that on into the Main But [I] made some good passes and I just tried to stay with Beaumer the whole time was getting pretty close to him with about three laps to go and someone stopped on the triple right before the finish line I jumped right on him and had a pretty close one I didn’t know I got third until the last lap I’ve just been feeling really good all day… I’m just blessed to be back up here.” – Garrett Marchbanks “I got a good start and was focusing on just trying to build a bit of a gap and ride from there I shouldn’t have put myself in that position and keep on keeping on… [When asked for his opinion on the pass that resulted in him crashing] I shouldn’t have put myself in that position Just a big thanks to everyone around me… There’s been a lot of sacrifices to get me here and I’ll be back at Salt Lake.” – Cole Davies City Forester for the City and County of Denver stands in front of an Eastern Redbud at City Park in Denver flowering fruit trees permeate metro Denver Thornton resident Brooke Bakers wonders why there aren’t more fruit trees in city parks she thinks they’re pretty and provide much-needed shade in sunny Colorado — and “Families can go into the park and pick an apple or a peach,” Baker said “And I just think it’s a really nice idea.” To find out why there aren’t a lot of fruit trees in the Denver area who’s loved trees since he was a little kid Killoran grew up climbing trees in his neighborhood and backyard eventually landing a job in the local forestry department he was named City Forester for the City and County of Denver are sterile so that they don't produce a physical fruit but they will flower and provide those benefits,” he said dry weather can be a difficult environment to grow fruit As for giving Denverites the chance to pick and eat apples or peaches Killoran noted there’s just too much competition from other creatures.   Have a question or curiosity about the Centennial State? Ask us, and we may answer your question in Colorado Wonders“In our urban environment Killoran added that even if hungry animals can’t outsmart humans the trees are especially susceptible to insects and disease And he said Denver just doesn’t have the capacity to harvest fruit which he said can get messy in heavily-trafficked pedestrian areas and lead to accidents.  “[A fruit tree] creates litter and it could be a slip that’s why many local cities steer clear of fruit-bearing trees even though Killoran is clearly a fan of them and he doesn’t hesitate: It’s the Quercus bicolor the city is actively planting swamp white oaks in Denver Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. Listen now. © 2025 Colorado Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy LAC (5)Clippers fans flown out to Denver by owner Steve Ballmer for Game 7 against NuggetsMore than 100 Clippers fans are treated as an extension of LA's "The Wall," a special section that loom over the Intuit Dome LA Clippers fans gather before Saturday’s Game 7 between the Clippers and the Nuggets DENVER (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers brought in a “Wall” of support for Game 7 on Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets more than 100 Clippers fans were flown to Denver and assembled behind one of the baskets to provide extra noise It’s an extension of “The Wall,” a section for the group of superfans that packs the Intuit Dome — also behind a basket — for Clippers games in Los Angeles “‘The Wall’ has grown into an international phenomenon,” said 27-year-old Sam Dash This (going to Ball Arena) is like a celebration for ‘The Wall,’ because it’s been such a big success.” The members of the traveling party landed in Denver on Saturday morning They were treated to Chick-fil-A before the game had prime seats and were slated to fly out after the first-round series finale Ballmer even stopped by for a pregame motivational speech They’re part of “The Wall” known as “The Swell,” which leads the cheers and gets the crowd stirred up “To sit in ‘The Wall,’ you can’t be a fan of any other organization,” Sam Dash explained “They will literally reassign your seat if you show up in a Lakers jersey.” Dash has been a devoted Clippers fans since watching Chris Paul and Blake Griffin “I like the underdog mentality and the fact that we actually do win,” Dash said We have an amazing record when you look at our 20-year span now.” when he attended California Institute of Technology in Pasadena “I just thought there was something special about the fan base for the Clippers,” Turner said “It was family-oriented and had team spirit a New York Knicks backer before adopting the Clippers Mid-game tempers and end-game heroics highlight the latest chapter in a riveting playoff series between the Nuggets and Clippers LA is hitting its stride at the perfect time Nikola Jokić looks tired and Intuit Dome provides a real home-court advantage Murray's 43-point explosion on Tuesday gave Denver a 3-2 series lead evoking memories of the 2023 championship run a strong candidate to win his 4th Kia NBA MVP award joins current teammate Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson Follow the NBA Playoffs with our Nightly Pulse blog featuring all the latest news scores and highlights from around the league Atkinson guides Cavaliers to a 64-18 record and the No 1 seed in the Eastern Conference during 1st year at the helm RotoWire highlights the top performers after the 2nd full week of the 2025 NBA Playoffs "He figured out a pattern of success," says Zach Hahn who was coached at Butler by Celtics GM Brad Stevens The NBA's all-time wins leader addressed his recovery from a stroke as he becomes team president and Mitch Johnson takes over as coach Hardy has compiled an 85-161 record over his 3 seasons at the helm in Utah Evans appeared in 34 games over four seasons with the Bengals He missed the entire 2024 season after suffering a torn patellar tendon in Cincinnati's joint practice with the Bears on August 15 The Bengals took the 27-year-old in the sixth round (202nd overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft Evans was primarily a contributor on special teams but did run for 87 yards and finish his Bengals tenure with 19 receptions for 188 yards and three touchdowns The Broncos rookie minicamp is scheduled for May 9-11 Evans worked out for the Texans last week Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news Ja’Marr Chase Agrees to Record-Setting Extension That Makes Him NFL’s Highest-Paid Non-Quarterback in History Tee Higgins Gets Record-Setting Deal for WR2, Bengals Break Precedent to Keep Higgins in Cincinnati NFL Draft Film Breakdown: Is Armand Membou Ideal Fit in Cincinnati Bengals' Quest to Protect Joe Burrow? Stat of the Jay: Who Holds the NFL Record For Most Sacks After Age 30, and Who Holds the Bengals' Mark? Cincinnati Bengals Make Another Addition to Coaching Staff, Hiring Sean Desai as Senior Defensive Assistant Cincinnati Bengals Tagged Tee Higgins: What's Next for the Star Wide Receiver? 'There's A Real Framework To Work Off Of' - Duke Tobin Dives Into Bengals Desire to Extend Ja'Marr Chase Duke Tobin on Trey Hendrickson's Future With Bengals: 'He Has Earned a Pay Raise' What Erick All's Injury Means for Bengals' Plans at Tight End in Free Agency and 2025 NFL Draft Sources: Bengals Players 'Excited' About Defensive Coordinator Al Golden and Revamped Coaching Staff Report: Arrests Made in Possible Relation to Joe Burrow Home Robbery 'He's an Expert Pass Pro Technician' - NFL World Reacts to Bengals New O-Line Coach Scott Peters Former Bengals Coach Lou Anarumo Named Colts Defensive Coordinator Legendary Bengals Coach Jim McNally Praises Offensive Line Hiring of Scott Peters From Practice Squads to MMA to Cleveland and New England, Scott Peters' Journey Continues as Bengals O-Line Coach Simple Quote Explains Bengals' Decision to Make Latest O-Line Coach Addition in Quest to Protect Joe Burrow Bengals Fun Fact: Trio of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Cade York Finish 20-0 ESPN's Ben Solak Predicts Bengals Trade For Falcons Star Tight End Kyle Pitts Related: Joe Burrow Sends ANOTHER Message to Bengals' Front Office Cincinnati Bengals List of 2025 Opponents Finalized Ahead of Week 18 Season Finale Best Player in Football: Joe Burrow Gets Ringing Endorsement for MVP Following Clutch Performance vs Denver Broncos In Depth Look at Joe Burrow’s Case for NFL MVP Following Bengals’ Win Streak 'Sometime You Eat A S*** Sandwich' - Broncos CB Riley Moss Sums Up Outing Against Bengals, Tee Higgins Playing on One Leg: Orlando Brown Jr. Shares Details of Broken Leg, His Ability to Play Through the Pain Watch: Zac Taylor Tosses Out Game Balls Following Bengals’ Win Over Broncos in OT Bengals WR Tee Higgins Talks Emotions, Gratitude and Mistakes After What Could Be His Final Home Game with Team Listen: Radio Call of Tee Higgins’ Game-Winning Touchdown in Bengals’ Win Over Broncos Ja’Marr Chase Breaks Another Bengals Record, Becomes All-Time Leader for Receptions in a Season Join the 55,000+ Bengals fans that subscribe to us on YouTube. Follow us on Twitter: @BengalsTalkSI Like Our Facebook Page Subscribe and follow the ONLY Daily Bengals Podcast Follow on TikTok ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos' selections for the 2025 NFL Draft are officially set. Denver holds seven picks in the upcoming draft, and the order was announced this week after the league awarded compensatory picks. In addition to the 20th-overall pick, the Broncos hold pick No. 51 in the second round and pick No. 85 in the third round. Denver also possesses four Day 3 sections, including three selections in the sixth round. In Round 4, the Broncos hold pick No. 122 and picks No. 191, 197 and 208 in the sixth round. The Broncos last held selections in each of the first three rounds in 2021, when they selected a pair of 2024 first-team All-Pros in Pat Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz. The NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, April 24. "You kind of wait your whole life to just hear you name called," Robinson said. "Ultimately, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I always had the confidence and the support behind me to know I could." Combined with an active free agency period, Denver has added a slew of talent to its roster as the team looks to build on a playoff berth from a season ago. "RJ Harvey, he can go, man," Edmonds said. "He can go." Plus, Head Coach Sean Payton speaks about adding the right players to the Broncos' roster. "If it turns out like the last one did, then we'd be real excited," Head Coach Sean Payton said in reference to former All-Pro Jimmy Graham. Here's a look at who the Broncos added to their roster during the 2025 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound player began playing football in 2024 and caught four passes — which all went for touchdowns — and a two-point conversion. In his first career game, he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass. In his final season at Florida, Crawshaw averaged 45.8 yards per punt and had 25 of his 59 punts fall within the 20-yard line. The Broncos have added to their edge rushing group on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft. "We always talk about, 'Who does he remind [you of]?'" Payton said Friday. "We try to find comps. There were so many things about his game that reminded me of Mike Thomas." "We felt like moving back would set the tone for the day [and] would give us flexibility to do what we want to do for the day — and it did," General Manager George Paton said. "His running style — we feel he's dynamic," General Manager George Paton said. "He has really good vision, really good instincts, really good contact balance. Highly explosive. We thought maybe he had the best vision in the draft." mumps and rubella vaccine sit in a cooler at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona There are now two cases of measles in Colorado this year The second case is a child under the age of 1 in Denver who recently traveled Health officials said Monday they confirmed the case in an unvaccinated Denver County infant resident They recently traveled with family to an area of Chihuahua which is experiencing a measles outbreak.  The news was announced in a joint press release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.  Health officials urged Coloradans to check their vaccination status and monitor for symptoms like fever red eyes and a rash that usually starts several days after exposure on the face and spreads.  People who were at the Denver Health emergency department on Sunday The news comes after a case was reported at the end of March of a Pueblo adult who had traveled to an area of Mexico where there is an ongoing measles outbreak “Infants under 12 months are especially vulnerable to measles because they are typically too young to be vaccinated This case is a stark reminder that families traveling internationally should delay unnecessary travel or talk to their health care providers about early MMR vaccination for infants especially when visiting areas with known measles outbreaks,” said Dr state epidemiologist and deputy chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.  She expressed gratitude to Denver Health and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment “for their swift action and collaboration in identifying this case and protecting the broader community.” Babies normally get the routine dose of measles and rubella — or MMR vaccine — at 12 to 15 months Measles is highly contagious and often severe Health officials say the MMR vaccine remains the best protection.  Colorado’s vaccination rate for measles is 1 percentage point lower than needed to reach herd immunity Herlihy said in a press conference when the first case was announced “What we call the community immunity or herd immunity threshold for measles is about 95 percent So that does mean that Colorado is potentially at risk for outbreaks,” said the state epidemiologist As of April 3, 2025, a total of 607 confirmed measles cases were reported nationally according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded two deaths this year; in 12 percent of the cases Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify the age of the Denver resident who tested positive for measles Previous reportingColorado measles case reported in Pueblo adult who traveled internationallyColorado’s measles vaccination rate is just a bit too low for herd immunityColorado school vaccination rates are public. Here’s how to find them. You want to know what is really going on these days We can help you keep up.  The Lookout is a free daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado Sign up here and we will see you in the morning playNikola Jokic talks about reaction to Michael Malone firing (0:48)Nikola Jokic reacts to the firing of Michael Malone after the Nuggets' 124-116 win over the Kings chiding anyone who didn't appreciate or vote for the Serbian superstar after the Nuggets lost their fourth straight game for the first time since March 2023 Malone was at his acerbic best in assessing the team's issues and just how urgent Denver's predicament had become "We haven't lost four in a row in a long time," Malone said after a 125-120 loss to the Indiana Pacers "It's really easy to be together and say 'family' when you win do you have the courage to go home and look in the mirror and say 'What can I be doing better to help this team?' Not doing my job to the best of my ability." Little did Malone or anyone in the Denver locker room suspect that team president Josh Kroenke had for months been asking the same questions Malone's message wasn't landing. Three weeks earlier, after a blowout loss to a Portland Trail Blazers team missing four rotation players he sat in front of the postgame lectern and lit into his team He talked about rebounding -- the Nuggets had given up 26 points on the offensive glass -- and turnovers "I don't think we played with any pride tonight," Malone said And the guys that are full of s--- won't hear it 'Coach is trippin.' And the guys who maybe do really care will .. they're not going to go back and watch their minutes I'm not concerned with how they took that message The Nuggets are a tepid 12-13 since the All-Star break and have lost some of what made them so dynamic just two years ago, even though they remain in fourth place in the West following Wednesday's win against the Sacramento Kings the cold war between Malone and general manager Calvin Booth had become toxic for everyone in the organization front office staffers and support staff felt compelled to choose sides Instead of focusing on how to get the most out of a team with a three-time MVP having arguably his best season as a professional energy was being spent on determining which side people were on -- and whether they could be trusted "Everybody in the organization was miserable," a team source said He felt that if he removed those two people everybody could just focus on doing their job In interviews with more than a dozen team and league insiders a theme quickly emerged: Not only was this war between Malone and Booth toxic for the two men but it had infected the entire organization winning had hidden the toxins coursing through the Nuggets Kroenke made the decision to fire Malone and Booth late Sunday night It wasn't the first time this season that Kroenke seriously pondered parting ways with the winningest coach in franchise history and the executive who had put together the final pieces of the Nuggets' championship puzzle Kroenke wanted to clean house at the All-Star break but an eight-game winning streak spared Malone and Booth "There were certain trends that were very worrisome to me at certain points in time but they would get masked by a few wins here and there," Kroenke said during an in-house interview released Tuesday afternoon Tuesday was an optional day for players to report it is understood that the best "option" is to show up and put in some work who had a brief one-on-one discussion with Kroenke beforehand Malone was packing some of his belongings in his office after being informed that his decade-long tenure in Denver was done 'We made a decision.' So it was not a discussion It was a decision," Jokic said Wednesday night the rest of the players were called to an 11 a.m where they learned that the only coach many of them had ever played for had just been fired "It's just so disrespectful," one source close to the situation said "That's not how you treat a championship coach." It was a shock with just three games left in the regular season But that's exactly what Kroenke was going for "We wanted to try to figure out a way to squeeze as much juice out of the rest of the season as possible," Kroenke said "Let's try to shake this tree and squeeze as much out of it as we can." play0:48Nikola Jokic talks about reaction to Michael Malone firingNikola Jokic reacts to the firing of Michael Malone after the Nuggets' 124-116 win over the Kings THE NUGGETS HAVE long felt pressure to put Jokic in position to win championships -- plural. Not just the one they claimed in 2023. Booth told ESPN before the season that he felt the Nuggets were halfway through what he hoped would be a 10-year prime for Jokic and his job was to surround him with a roster that could contend in each of those remaining prime years not simply load up with expensive veterans to contend for one or two more seasons Malone not only resented that Booth didn't retain those players in free agency but also wondered whether Booth did so as a way to force him to play the younger players he had drafted "They just saw the world completely differently," another team source said "The situation was just unsustainable," a team source said "Coach Malone and Calvin couldn't fix it because they made the situation all about themselves." Players even questioned whether their playing time was affected by the dysfunction between Malone and Booth Malone doesn't want to play you," a team source said Malone is hardly the first veteran coach to be reluctant to give big minutes to younger players. Legendary coach Phil Jackson used to refer to rookies as "lower than pond scum." Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't play the organization's lottery picks as much as the front office and ownership would've liked When Malone was reluctant to play Nnaji at power forward where analytics show he was resoundingly better than as a backup center more than one staffer wondered whether there was an agenda behind it "The numbers are way better [with Nnaji] as a 4 than a 5," one team source said Nnaji was plus-100 when he played power forward and was paired with a center and minus-113 in 235 minutes when he played as a center When Malone put Westbrook into the starting lineup early in the season even Malone acknowledged it wasn't fair to Braun "Never an easy decision," Malone said after a 122-112 loss to the New York Knicks in which he had debuted the new lineup "Christian Braun has been great for us this year And he's done everything that's been asked of him But I just like keeping Russell out there." at the time the Jokic-Westbrook duo had a plus-11.4 net rating on the floor together "What else does CB have to do?" a team source said "Malone even said he's done everything he was asked to do Jokic may not have sounded off publicly at any of this dysfunction But he bore witness to it all season and wasn't happy about it "Joker is really good at letting you know how he feels," a team source said JOKIC HAS NEVER given any indication he would look to play anywhere other than Denver he even seemed to give a strong vote of confidence to the organization despite the departure of so many key veterans in free agency over the previous two offseasons but they don't know what they have," Jokic told ESPN "I'm really happy we have one title -- a lot of very good players don't win." The only nod that's even resembled an openness to playing anywhere else came Tuesday night, when his longtime agent, Misko Raznatovic, responded on Instagram to a Bovada betting line of where his client's next destination could be "It's not hard for @bcmegabasket to accept second place if Lakers are in first," Raznatovic joked referring to his involvement with KK Megabasket in Belgrade the Nuggets have profound urgency about maximizing what remains of Jokic's prime "We have the best player in the world," a Nuggets official said The assumption around the league is that he will do so But if there's even a slight pause in his decision-making And interim head coach David Adelman is expected to be a candidate in several of the coaching vacancies this summer By giving him a chance to coach out the rest of this season the Nuggets get the inside track on retaining him "I think the players respect [Adelman]," a team source said I wanted him to get the opportunity earlier." THE QUESTION OF why Kroenke fired Booth in addition to Malone is complicated When organizational dissension devolves into factions everyone on the losing side would've either had to get behind whichever side "won" or lined up behind whomever was brought in as a replacement Kroenke held Malone and Booth responsible for allowing their personal issues to negatively affect the organization "I'll put it on both of them," a team source said Both are responsible because they weren't getting along the Kroenkes had a choice: Improve their offer or do nothing But as the season wore on and the losses mounted the initial offer wasn't there for Booth to sign or negotiate anymore "The Kroenkes don't pay front office guys," a league source said "They think they can find another good executive faster than they can find another superstar or great coach But you know that when you take the job in Denver." Booth was hoping to buck that trend and had seemed well on his way to doing so when his acquisitions of Caldwell-Pope and Brown and drafting Braun helped propel the team to the title in his first season as general manager Malone received the credit and an extension after the title run But Booth and Kroenke didn't greenlight extensions for the assistant coaches at the same time And Kroenke never consummated extensions for Booth or his front office staff which added to the tension within the organization As this season wore on and the time remaining on people's contracts was running out "I put that on ownership as much as anyone," a team source said MUCH HAS BEEN made about Kroenke's meeting with the players and coaches Tuesday morning in Denver after he had told Malone and Booth of his decision "I think it was a good thing for everybody to sit in a room together and realize that we have not played up to our expectation as of late," Adelman said before Wednesday's game in Sacramento "'[It was] really cool for Josh to come down and be around and talk to the players." But Kroenke also met with the players Wednesday morning after the team's meeting in Sacramento "He said he saw that we weren't having fun," Michael Porter Jr. said. "And that he saw we weren't playing as hard as we could. So he wanted to come in here and help reestablish that as the basis of our culture."Breaking News from Shams Charania Download the ESPN app and enable Shams Charania's news alerts to receive push notifications for the latest updates first. Opt in by tapping the alerts bell in the top right corner. For more information, click here The Nuggets needed Malone to speak like that back then given the softer voices of their two leaders They responded to his bark by biting back at their opponents the Nuggets haven't won like they expected to No one doubted Malone's ability as a coach but his rigid personality and the attention his feud with Booth commanded began to wear thin who [is] so unselfish and hates attention," a team source said Wednesday night was a palate cleanser for everyone The Nuggets jumped to a 10-3 lead and only trailed briefly early in the second quarter before cruising to an eight-point win in Sacramento Adelman said he made a point of encouraging the players to speak up in huddles and on the court it was probably our best game of the year," Braun said We had players communicating to each other instead of relying on a coach to tell us everything." He talked so much his voice seemed hoarse during a postgame interview with ESPN's Katie George "Josh got the response that he wanted," Jokic said The Nuggets have precious little time left to find out ESPN's Ohm Youngmusik contributed to this report — Some active duty military service members were among those detained during a large-scale federal law enforcement operation Sunday morning at an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs More than 300 law enforcement officers from at least 10 federal agencies according to DEA Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen was part of an investigation into drug trafficking prostitution and crimes of violence at the illegal club More than a dozen active duty service members were at the underground nightclub The Army confirms that service members from its base in Fort Carson were present they will not say how many service members were involved The United States Army Criminal Investigation Division released the following statement: “Army CID is aware of this matter and is currently conducting a joint investigation with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) we are unable to provide additional information at this time,” the statement read "Colorado Springs is waking up to a safer city this Sunday morning," he said Officers were seen escorting people from the club in handcuffs according to the Denver7 Investigates crew at the scene Law enforcement had cordoned off several square blocks around the club in central Colorado Springs to conduct the operation The DEA's Rocky Mountain Division said in a social media post that more than 100 people in custody were in the U.S The agency said it seized drugs and weapons during the operation Pullen said that many of those detained will face federal immigration charges and some were arrested on outstanding warrants he said it is unlikely they will be able to file drug charges because of the difficulty in proving possession during the bust The owner of the building, Mike Moon, expressed shock after learning that his property was allegedly being used as an illegal nightclub “I've never even seen a lot of trash in the parking lot to even suspect that anything like an after-hours nightclub is going on Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade thanked law enforcement and said criminal activity will not be tolerated “Let me be clear: criminal activity of any kind This investigation and the execution of these warrants are the result of clear evidence of serious criminal conduct Our residents deserve to live in a city where the rule of law is upheld and where illegal behavior is met with firm and decisive action We will continue working together to ensure the safety and well-being of our entire community.” In a statement to Denver7 Investigates early Sunday Colorado Springs police said they were "assisting federal partners on an operation serving a warrant involving criminal activity in Colorado Springs" and that the DEA was the lead agency coordinated federal operation of its kind in El Paso County this year comes amid a Colorado crackdown by the DEA As the agency conducted four Denver-area operations on Jan. 29 special agent in charge David Olesky said an uptick in enforcement is due to a “renewed sense of purpose” at the agency under the Trump administration “We’re getting absolutely all the resources that we need not only at the federal level but at the local level as well,” he said at the time that is just one of the tools in the toolbox that we’re going to be able to use to remove those violent criminals and drug traffickers from the communities.” He said he believes criminals have taken advantage of vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the state and that the border policies of recent years have been too open and allowed for too many people to cross the U.S Diversity is critical to the success of America While the agency touted more than 90 arrests over 12 Colorado operations in less than three weeks between late January and early February the DEA admitted to Denver7 Investigates that it expected more 5 targeted more than 100 members of TdA but netted just one confirmed TdA arrest said he believes the targeted criminals were feeling the pressure “What we found was that they weren't where we expected them to be," he said “It's likely that the pressure that we've put on these folks over the last several weeks has encouraged them to hide more.” like Sunday's operation in Colorado Springs even those who have been arrested haven’t been punished – particularly in drug cases An event billed as a “TdA invite-only party” in Adams County netted 49 arrests, but none of the suspects ended up facing charges Pullen said drugs and guns "hit the floor" when officers arrived making it difficult to pinpoint what individuals they may have belonged to DENVER — Four people were injured in a shooting near Coors Field on Sunday night, the Denver Police Department (DPD) said Three of the people were taken to the hospital by ambulance and the fourth victim got themselves to the hospital DPD said all of the victims are expected to recover Denver police are working to put together information about a suspect behind the shooting Anyone with information about the suspect or the circumstances leading to the shooting is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP(7867) Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right lending a helping hand and following through on promises Nobody believes the Nuggets can beat OKC in the second round of the NBA Playoffs most basketball 'experts' think it's a long-shot for David Adelman's group to win more than a single game against the Thunder Oklahoma City is the betting favorite to win the NBA title The odds of Denver winning this series are +500 – or 5-to-1 – according to DraftKings Sportsbook Serbian silver lining for Nuggets fans - you still have the best basketball player on the planet: Nikola Jokic As Lloyd Christmas would say "so you're telling me there's a chance!" How can the Nuggets silence Oklahoma City's thunder and advance to the Western Conference Finals The road to an upset starts with one giant step by Denver's Joker In four games against OKC during the regular season Jokic averaged 24.5 points per game on 52.6-percent shooting from the field Both of those figures are below his season-long average and they're even skewed by his monster game on March 10th where he went for 35 points and shot 75-percent The other three match ups against the Thunder are more representative of what Jokic will need to avoid if Denver wants any chance to steal this series - inefficient shooting nights Jokic shot anywhere between 43-and-46-percent in those three games including one 2-for-10 effort from behind the three-point line on national TV but there have been times this season where he's seemingly felt pressure to take over a game and out-score Denver's opponent - that simply cannot happen against OKC but when Jokic scores between 18 and 26 points on 55-plus-percent shooting and double-digit assists Denver is darn near unbeatable The Joker's true superpower is his ability to engage and elevate his teammates the three-time MVP will need to be facilitator first and scorer second This is my go-to take as it relates Nuggets' success this season – Aaron Gordon is the straw that stirs this drink Gordon was a consistent force in that first round series against the Clippers although rarely does his box score statistical output paint the full picture of his impact on the game What was most encouraging to me was that - especially in game seven Gordon seemed to still have bounce in his game The calf injury that's hampered most of his season isn't going away until the year comes to a close for Denver but the immense amount of attention being paid to both rest and rehabilitation by both Gordon and the Nuggets' training staff is clearly paying off Gordon led the Nuggets with 22 points in that series-clinching victory and if they're going to wash-rinse-repeat that success (like I do with my "Aaron Gordon is the X-Factor" takes) the man fans affectionately call Mr Looking back at their regular season match ups against OKC Gordon really only played one true game against the Thunder – an October 24th drubbing in which nobody really played well in just seven minutes before exiting due to aggravating that calf injury on March 9 Gordon showed exactly how he can lead the Nuggets to an upset in this series: drain threes* He made two of three in that limited action and during the regular season he shot the best three point percentage of his career: 43.6-percent That's the highest three point shooting percentage on the Denver Nuggets (even higher than Nikola Jokic's 41.7-percent) and it would rank him sixth in the entire NBA (except he missed a few too many games due to injury to be ranked.. Gordon did not shot the long ball well in round one against the Clippers - finishing the series just below 30-percent But over the representative sample size of this season he's been an impact player from three and the Nuggets will need that firepower and floor spacing to match an Oklahoma City group that shoots nearly 40 three's per game *footnote: I'm taking for granted that Gordon's defense will continue to hover at an all pro level Both AG and Christian Braun will need to carry their excellent defensive effort from round one into round two if Denver is going to have any chance to win this series Russell Westbrook would make a terrible Jedi knight You need only read the Jedi code to know that Westbrook isn't cutout for that life: Westbrook's game relies on both emotion and passion - at times "To be a force of nature on the floor is what I pride myself on," says Westbrook when talking about his game it may be a missed shot," he says with a wry smile You just take it for how it comes and whatever happens you go with it." That's one way of describing the way Russell Westbrook can impact a basketball game but Westbrook himself also likes to put it a bit more simply: "To go in and [mess] [stuff] up," Westbrook says Westbrook was a key cog in earning a victory Westbrook may have been the most important player on the court Not only did he score 16 points – the same amount as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray – but he also forced five steals That was 33-percent of the Clippers' total turnover number in the game If the Nuggets are going to win this series they're going to have to steal at least one game in Oklahoma City and to do that they'll need someone to create instant-energy and silence the hometown crowd That second bit may be a challenge for Westbrook - he's still a legend in OKC and his emotions likely will be high returning to the genesis of his NBA career "He's an emotional guy and I think that energy drives him," says Jokic There's no way Denver wins this series without significant contributions from Russell Westbrook - so as fans we're going to have to ride that proverbial wave layups gone so awry they make you question your own sanity - all of that is on the table with this chaos merchant and a roar that may be loud enough to drown out both the NBA pundits and the Thunder but I've watched enough sports to know that when everyone believes they know what's about to happen - they're usually wrong The most popular bet heading into this series is for Oklahoma City to win in five games - suggesting Denver is only good value to win once They haven't played a basketball game since April 26th - they'll have had eight days off before facing the Nuggets on Monday That's the exact same number of off days that the Rockies had in between winning the NLCS and being swept by the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series I'm not suggesting that Denver will sweep OKC but to think that this group with championship pedigree and a three-time MVP (let's be honest it should probably be at least four-time and probably five-time) is going to get run out of the post season is bordering on insane DENVER — What was once considered a long shot is now looking more like an easy putt for the future of Park Hill Golf Course Roughly seven years after the course shut down in 2018 it could partially reopen within a few weeks after a monumental Denver City Council vote set to happen this week The council will consider an ordinance to finally rezone the property from a golf course to a park This could set the stage for tearing down the chain-link fences in a matter of weeks and allowing limited use of the trails and open space “It’s about time,” said mother of two and Park Hill resident Margaret Fogarty who believes the promise of something new is long overdue carefully balance the interest of the neighbors.” who lives right across the street and certainly has his own vision I’d like to see a big one out there where people can go and grow their own fruits and vegetables,” Semien said After years of battles at the ballot box and in the courtroom “I’m elated that we are on the cusp of opening this space to the community,” said Lisa Calderon with the Latinos United Neighbors Association With Walgreens' recent closure across the street the park could spur new growth and development in adjacent neighborhoods and be a link between long-underserved communities a former mayoral candidate who grew up in Park Hill “We know that this area really does need amenities like a pool.” The idea of a youth-centered approach to reopening is a sentiment many share or pickleball,” said Colette Carey with the Greater Park Hill Community Group “Anything that’s going to serve the community.” plans for Park Hill should be just as bold as the redesign of City Park Golf Course “A beautiful big park and build a world-class regional youth recreation hub,” Fogarty said “It’s something that the Denver community is really lacking and we just have to drive to the suburbs all around us to see really great examples of how parks and rec departments have been able to do those things There’s not even enough basketball courts in town.” “It really should be a regional attraction,” Calderon said That vote is expected to happen on Monday in Denver City Council. As for what's next, plans are still being discussed, and you can have your voice heard by taking this survey It'll be a matchup of NBA MVP frontrunners Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic It'll be a playoff homecoming for Russell Westbrook What will be the four biggest keys for the Thunder to dispatch the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference finals CARLSON: Russell Westbrook Experience returns to OKC for Thunder-Nuggets in NBA Playoffs: Buckle up we've heard for years that the Thunder is too young to win a title but this is an instance where Oklahoma City needs to lean into its youth The Nuggets are the 10th-oldest team in the league and they're only going to have one off day before starting this series then they're going to have to play every other day for at least the first week Add the fact that the Nuggets' depth is more kiddie pool than Pacific Ocean and the well-rested Thunder needs to go hard at the Nuggets More: NBA playoff predictions: Are Boston Celtics, OKC Thunder still favorites after Round 1? Make Denver pay for slim rotationDenver’s rotation has long been thin Less than a handful of teams slimmed down their playoff rotations to seven players — or fewer much to center Jaxson Hayes’ chagrin; the Pistons missed Isaiah Stewart; the Knicks are led by Tom Thibodeaux; and the Nuggets If not for Russell Westbrook’s furious first round Denver could truly be looking at a rotational six The only thing more uncommon than the Nuggets’ minimized rotation is the Thunder’s ability to play up to 10 or more different players confidently in a playoff game ends up being Denver’s weakest link — the target in OKC’s sights — then the Thunder’s weakest link has to outplay them More: OKC Thunder vs Denver Nuggets: Who has the edge in NBA Playoffs? Denver ranked first in the NBA in fastbreak points per game (20.1) during the regular season who often pushes the ball up the floor after snagging a rebound but guys such as Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook can also run but it has looked sharp in that department all season The Thunder ranked first in the NBA in fewest opponent fastbreak points per game during the regular season (12.3) and it slowed down the Memphis Grizzlies’ high-octane offense in the first round CARLSON: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants to be one of the greats and one of the guys Time for Isaiah Hartenstein to earn his money but the Thunder signed the $30 million man for matchups like this one but it helps to have the requisite size to make him work Denver ranked second in rebound percentage in the regular season The Thunder was 19th after ranking 28th a year ago The addition of Hartenstein has shored up some of OKC's rebounding issues He'll be a massive piece for the Thunder this series One person was hospitalized after a shooting in Denver on Sunday According to the Denver Police Department the shooting took place in the 1400 block of N One person was taken to the hospital with what police reported as serious injuries The police department said they're working to develop suspect information at this time They have not yet released information on what led up to the shooting More information will be provided as it becomes available Christa Swanson is a Digital Media Producer at CBS Colorado in Denver The game offers plenty of opportunity for bettors to take advantage Here are three bets to consider ahead of Saturday night's Game 7 Odds by ESPN BET James Harden over 8.5 assists (-140) This line naturally sits right around Harden's assist rate this season The Nuggets have had a tough time effectively blitzing Harden as he has been ready to pass ahead or rotate around the arc to keep the offense going Harden has averaged nearly identical raw passing metrics to the regular season This is a clear positive given Harden and his teammates converted nearly 16% of his passes into actualized assists in the regular season These are among the best passing efficiency rates in the NBA suggesting no matter how Denver approaches Harden's playmaking Jamal Murray over 21.5 points (-115) The risk is fairly clear; these are deliberate and veteran-led offenses that are near the bottom of the league in pace in both the regular season and playoffs Only one game has gone under the total this series with the five other contests clearing this bar easily The other angle is that the Clippers rank third in offensive rating in the playoffs making this the best offensive matchup of the first round Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds by ESPN BET Beaty/DenveriteFederal law enforcement outside the Cedar Run Apartments where immigration raids are taking place early Wednesday Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Friday against Denver and Colorado officials alleging in federal court that they had passed “sanctuary laws” that violate the U.S District Court in Colorado to declare that several city and state policies are invalid blocking the city and state from enforcing them The laws and policies in question generally restrict the ability of state and local government employees to help with immigration enforcement “The Supremacy Clause prohibits Colorado and its officials from obstructing the Federal Government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution,” the lawsuit argues “The Supremacy Clause also prohibits Colorado from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment — as the challenged laws do — thereby discriminating against the Federal Government The Sanctuary Laws are themselves unlawful and cannot stand.” Mayor Mike Johnston’s office responded soon after the suit was filed “Denver will not be bullied or blackmailed least of all by an administration that has little regard for the law and even less for the truth and federal and stand ready to defend our values,” wrote Jon Ewing the city and county of Denver and Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins “Colorado is not a sanctuary state,” responded Eric Maruyama state and federal law enforcement regularly and we value our partnerships with local county and federal law enforcement agencies to make Colorado safer If the courts say that any Colorado law is not valid We are not going to comment on the merits of the lawsuit,” Maruyama continued The DOJ argued that because of a state law it can no longer enter into agreements with local governments to detain immigrants in county jails forcing it to transfer all its detainees to a facility in Aurora The lawsuit claims that the state’s policies force it to release individuals into the public because it can’t afford to bring them to Aurora.  Immigrant advocates have argued that local governments should not — and don’t have to — work closely with immigration enforcement They argue that when police partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement immigrants are afraid to report crimes and communities are less safe The federal lawsuit also argues that state and local laws make it harder for immigration agents to detain people who are set to be released from local jails. But city officials have pushed back on those claims, noting in one recent case that agents were notified more than an hour before a wanted person was released.  Nicknamed the Protecting Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach act it prevents law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining an individual on the basis of their immigration status or holding someone in jail past their release time just so immigration officials can come pick them up It also prevents authorities from providing information about an individual’s immigration status to federal officials Officers can continue to assist federal immigration enforcement officials with executing warrants issued by federal judges and they can transfer people from jail or prison into the custody of immigration officers SB21-131: This law aims to further restrict cooperation between state employees and federal immigration agents by preventing the state from looking into people’s immigration status or disclosing anyone’s personal identifying information to ICE HB23-1100: This law prohibits the state and local governments from contracting with private companies to operate immigration detention facilities 94-17: This law was adopted in 2017 under Mayor Michael Hancock It bars city employees from using “any city funds or resources to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” the lawsuit states as well as requesting information about a person’s immigration status in most cases It also bars federal immigration agents from “secure areas of any city or county jail or other city-owned law enforcement facility for the purpose of conducting investigative interviews or any other purpose related to the enforcement of federal immigration” unless they have a warrant from a federal judge or magistrate And it says that officers will not detain people solely on the basis of administrative warrants from immigration agents Executive Order No. 142: This order issued by Hancock declared Denver a "safe and welcoming city for all” and touched on numerous subjects It called for city employees to be trained on “the limitations around collecting and sharing national origin including sharing information pertaining to appointment times dates or whereabouts of clients … with federal immigration enforcement officials.” It also called on city leaders to report on “any efforts” they were aware of by immigration agents to get city help enforcing immigration laws 1) 0ms;transition:background-color 150ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;font-size:inherit;}.css-v4v4rs{-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none;width:1em;height:1em;display:inline-block;fill:currentColor;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;-webkit-transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;font-size:inherit;}@media (min-width:0px){.css-v4v4rs{display:block;}}@media (min-width:1100px){.css-v4v4rs{display:none;}}.css-mps3fk{-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none;width:1em;height:1em;display:inline-block;fill:currentColor;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;-webkit-transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 the Denver Nuggets are headed to the conference semifinals to face a historically dominant Oklahoma City Thunder team that just set the record for single-season point differential Conventional wisdom suggests OKC should win this series relatively easily but Denver has the best player in the world and loads of postseason experience The Nuggets can at least keep this competitive even against a team that almost looks destined to win the title Predictions for how it will all play out can be found below Jamal Murray already has the reputation of a playoff legend when he swung the series with a 43-point outburst in Game 5 Few players across the history of the league seem more motivated by pressure ratcheting up than Denver's longtime point guard Given his postseason track record, it's hard to imagine any team shutting him down completely. But this team has enough defense to at throw him off for significant chunks of the series. AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver PostConsidering the fact that Nikola Jokić just averaged a triple-double for the entire regular season, and then followed that up averaging another one in the first round, this might not feel all that bold. But again, this OKC defense is loaded. And that doesn't just apply to the perimeter. The Thunder have a pair of lengthy, high-IQ rim protectors in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. They can at least shrink Jokić's passing lanes and obstruct his vision. Even Jaylin Williams can come off the bench and at least give him some fouls. But none of those big men possess the unique combination of size, mobility, and perhaps most importantly, physicality that Ivica Zubac just threw at Jokić. And while the Thunder might be able to throw some schematic wrinkles at the big man that will take him some time to process, he will process them. And that will keep the triple-doubles rolling in. Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty ImagesThe Thunder mostly roasted the Memphis Grizzlies throughout their first-round sweep, but they did manage to hold Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 27.8 points (nearly five shy of his regular-season average) on 40.2 percent shooting. That feels like more of an outlier than a sign of things to come, though. Denver's perimeter defense held up fairly well against Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, but neither is as slithery in getting to the rim, as consistent in drawing fouls or as capable of getting to their spots as SGA is right now. If anything, the sub-standard series against Memphis may signal that a breakout is on the way for Gilgeous-Alexander. And I'm feeling a big one. At some point in this series, he'll top his playoff career high of 38 points. In fact, he'll clear 40. They won 18 more games in the regular season They broke the single-season record for point differential They have waves of perimeter defense to throw at Murray But Jokić and Murray are battle tested to the highest degree Russell Westbrook looks as energized for a postseason as he has in years Christian Braun is having a mini star breakout Denver's experience and championship mettle won't allow it to go down without a fight Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty ImagesFor most of last season it felt like the numbers were screaming at us that the Boston Celtics were going to win it all the Thunder obliterated a lot of the same indicators that pointed to Boston in 2023-24 And each of the five teams behind them on that second list (the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors and the 2023-24 Boston Celtics) won the title There's too much championship equity on that roster But the Thunder are headed to the Western Conference Finals The Oklahoma City Thunder have been waiting a week to find out its next playoff matchup and after the Denver Nuggets routed the LA Clippers in Game 7 Saturday This series has plenty of storylines to marvel at the top two finishers for the NBA MVP Award two years in a row Let's break down the X factors in this series which will decide who punches their ticket to the Western Conference Finals after each side was bounced in the second round a year ago The Oklahoma City Thunder went out and inked Isaiah Hartenstein to a massive three-year $83 million pact this offseason A move made with this time of year –– and matchup –– in mind Hartenstein has provided a massive boost to the Thunder's front-court depth but has also given Oklahoma City another tool in its toolbox Many expect Mark Daigneault to deploy the double-big lineup to start Monday's Game 1 but how are they rolled out for the length of the series Chet Holmgren has held his own –– as best anyone can –– against Nikola Jokic and is far more comfortable operating offensively as the lone big Holmgren's three-level scoring is a nightmare to deal with for opponents and his rim protection is stellar How often does the Thunder want him on the floor alone for these reasons Hartenstein has the body that leads you to believe success can be found against Jokic and he is certainly a better backup big than the Thunder rostered a year ago His strength is also found in the secondary unit helping OKC's offense stay in a groove as a playmaking hub and wipe-away screener to create space for Jalen Williams and company Playing one center at a time gives Oklahoma City a better chance at high-end rotations on the back-end to take away some of the elite playmaking jobs of Jokic Though it isn't as though the Thunder can't find success with two bigs on the floor It will be interesting to monitor and series deciding Including the chances of getting into foul trouble When Hartenstein and/or Holmgren get hit with one too many citations that even Daigneault's leaniant approach to playing guys in foul trouble The Arkansas big man has vastly improved defensively and physically held up well against Jokic back in March If he can toss in a few triples in those minutes to boot The Denver Nuggets in some ways goes as Jokic does he will not play all 48 minutes (He should play as close to that number as possible) That forces the Nuggets to turn to 17-year NBA veteran DeAndre Jordan who is passed his expiration date The Thunder must dominate these non-Jokic minutes to win this series and it can not be close Denver could dust off Zeke Nnaji in this matchup (which might be the better move) but he is only a slight step up from Jordan If Denver is even competitive in the stretches they play without Jokic The Nuggets have "Let Russ be Russ," more than his previous stops he is still forced into too many corner triples that don't suit his game he hit the trey ball at a 41% clip in Round 1 what if he starts tossing bricks at the rim a top-six player for the Nuggets is a negative impact Westbrook has been a polarizing player since stepping foot in this league and Denver is at the mercy of how he plays in this round the emotionally charged player can channel that energy into fantastic outings or become too swept up in it and derail his production (Shoutout Ricky Rubio and Damian Lillard) How will Westbrook handle this emotional series If Denver gets another consistent shooting series from Westbrook this series could be summarized up by a simple statistic: Who shoots better from beyond the arc they have streaky distance shooters who have at least tossed in meaningful triples during big games before they have more talented 3-point marksmen but have often left a lot on the table in situations like this –– in an incredibly small sample size Is this the series where Oklahoma City's role players can finally put together a consistently good shooting series the Thunder would be in position to punch its ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016 This is a lot to put on a 24-year-old going through just his second-ever playoff run but the Santa Clara product has to be a go-to scoring option for Oklahoma City Not just playing Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander's Batman but leading units of his own in the non-superstar minutes Williams handled this responsibility admirably in Round 1 this is a whole new ball game as the pressure mounts the lights get brighter and the competition stiffens If the Thunder swingman can provide a big-time scoring bunch in this series Oklahoma City will be able to stave off Denver in this best-of-7 set Williams' ability to put the pumpkin in the patch consistently will put a test to one of the NBA's longest-standing theories about inexperience this time of year This series should feature great basketball with two desperate teams trying to make it further than they did a year ago with a trip to the Western Conference Finals storylines and X Factors litter this series May 5 inside the Paycom Center with tip-off slated for 8:30 PM CT with the game being shown on TNT The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER according to the latest data released by the Denver’s Assessor's Office said it ends a decade-long trend of steadily rising home values “The last time I can remember anything flat-ish would've been 14 years ago in 2011,” he said “Even in the [reevaluation] that we did in the midst of COVID Every two years, Erffmeyer’s office does a whole lot of math to calculate the values of homes Property value is the basis for determining property taxes which fuel a little bit of the city’s budget and a lot of Denver Public Schools’ bottom line the assessed value for the typical single-family or row home dropped 1.6 percent from two years ago A neighborhood-level analysis shows much of that reduction happened in less affluent areas of the city — places like Barnum and Montbello which had witnessed some of the largest percentage increases in previous cycles.  But Erffmeyer said “reduction” isn’t really the way to classify this development “I would say the price of homes are still maintaining the highest they've ever been,” he told us.  Denver neighborhoods saw up to a 9 percent decrease in median home values since 2023 Areas that saw the greatest reductions tended to be on the city’s north and west sides Athmar Park led those decreases (8.7 percent) North Capitol Hill (7.3 percent) and Civic Center (6.9 percent) neighborhoods with the city’s most expensive homes saw their values continue to climb Cherry Creek was among the areas with the highest increases Denver’s DIA and Union Station neighborhoods showed the highest increases but we’re taking that with a grain of salt since they don’t contain a lot of single-family homes we need to dig in more on condos and apartment buildings.) The data shows that property tax bills should stay fairly steady next year unlike the huge jumps that happened two years ago However, even if their home value is unchanged, homeowners could still see their property tax bills rise by a few hundred dollars next year due to the expiration of Colorado’s temporary statewide tax discounts. And the overall drop in assessed values doesn’t necessarily mean that the city or the school district is losing money from their budgets The city has added housing in the last two years Erffmeyer told us City Council can raise certain mill levies to offset drops in home values within limits — that conversation likely won’t happen until autumn These values are used to determine tax bills for tax year 2025 Final tax bills won’t be sent to property owners until the end of the year Property values are linked to the real estate market, which has been slowed by high interest rates since the Federal Reserve raised them to curb inflation in a post-pandemic world “I would add property taxes and insurance to that,” he told us The property values being sent out now were measured in 2024 Assessments are derived by analyzing actual sales in a two-year period Erffmeyer said he and his colleagues aren’t completely sure how to explain the drop “I don't think there wasn't a hugely discernible pattern to us,” he said this could be a reflection of shifting demand in our market “As supply started catching up with the demand post COVID … it was clearly an undersupply that met this equilibrium and the market seems to be happy just staying where it's at,” he said The fact that Cherry Creek homes continued to rise in value “Cherry Creek seems to have been immune to any bad news for as long as I can remember now,” he told us But “good” and “bad” news is in the eye of the beholder, Erffmeyer said. Some people will be glad to see their homes continuing to grow in value, while others will be glad to see some relief on their property tax bills. Erffmeyer said he’s hoping his office will have to field fewer property tax appeals after a record-setting year in 2023 You can search your home’s tax bill on the city’s newly revamped assessment website, where you can also file an appeal if you want a second opinion. Kevin is a multimedia artist who flung himself into the world of journalism. He likes using a camera and microphone to tell stories about workers, the environment, social justice and fascinating humans. You power Denverite!If you love what we do, donate today to support our essential and delightful local news. The Los Angeles Clippers have been tabbed as having one of the best home-court advantages throughout the 2024-25 season The Clippers moved into the Intuit Dome in Inglewood The new arena cost $2 billion to build and is owned by Steve Ballmer, who also owns the Clippers. The arena features a 38,000-square-foot halo-like video board over the court and a 51-row section known as "The Wall," which is reserved for some of the team's rowdiest fans Denver Nuggets interim coach David Adelman spoke about the impact of "the Wall" before Game 3 of the series "It’s just really loud… I love what they’re doing here," Adelman said That’s what we used to know when I grew up… I miss that What Adelman likely didn’t expect was to see members of the Wall in Denver during the series With the Clippers on the road for Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round series The team owner reportedly paid for flights and at least 120 seats in a single section at the Ball Arena ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne pointed out that the seats are located right next to the Clippers' bench and under the basket where the Nuggets are expected to shoot during the second half of the game The Clippers split the first two games against the Nuggets in Denver. Those two games were decided by a combined total of five points. The Nuggets managed to blow out the Clippers, 131-115 NBA SING-A-LONG RETURNS: Famous sports anthem will be back with NBC coverage While it remains unclear how Ballmer managed to get access to a section of seats Ballmer was spotted before Game 7 asking the fans to "bring it today." Ballmer has been featured on the broadcast of Clippers' games in recent years for providing high energy and enthusiasm These are attributes that aren't commonly seen from NBA team owners sitting courtside at games For the fans who didn't make the trip to Denver the Clippers are hosting a free watch party outside of the Intuit Dome Follow USA TODAY Sports on Bluesky Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here where the Thunder have been patiently waiting for the winner of the Nuggets-Clippers series for over a week The two teams met four times in the regular season and had split the season series 2-2 Their last meeting ended in a 140-127 victory for the Nuggets in a game that saw the Thunder lead for a good portion of the second and third quarters Off to Oklahoma 🛫 pic.twitter.com/t55UQyXH1V The Nuggets will be looking to build off the momentum they built in their last series and carry it forward into the semifinals against the Thunder who had the best record in the regular season and are currently favored to win The Nuggets are coming into the game with a clean injury report containing one player: DaRon Holmes II Injury Report ahead of Game One against the Thunder:OUT:DaRon Holmes II (Right Achilles Tendon Repair)#MileHighPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/dR2Ywi5PHu DaRon Holmes II is out due to right Achilles tendon repair The Thunder are coming into the game with one player listed on their injury report: Nikola Topic Lots of work done, more work to do 💼 pic.twitter.com/4eOiN6wpW5 Nikola Topic is out due to left knee surgery The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder will face off Monday at 9:30 p.m Denver Nuggets Make History vs Clippers in Game 7 Russell Westbrook Makes NBA History in Nuggets-Clippers Game 7 Lakers Legend Sends Message To Nikola Jokic Before Nuggets-Clippers FARBOD ESNAASHARI 11-year veteran inside of NBA arenas. Published for ESPN, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and FanNation. Follow @Farbod_E on Twitter. What do you picture when you hear the phase, “helping profession?” Maybe a teacher, a social worker, or a therapist? What if there were other ways to serve your community? For College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CEDC) professors Jacqueline Garrido and Aditi Misra these engineers are working to improve our shared future by optimizing different aspects of an area that is vital to our everyday lives: transportation it’s improving charging operations of electric vehicles it’s making it easy and safe for people with all forms of abilities to get from A to B (like going from home to a bus stop or school) using whatever means of mobility they wish to and can use Read on to learn more about their visions for a better world and how engineering can help us get there.   “Transportation is a means to access opportunities,” Misra said “My purpose is to make that means—that link—as easy and as accessible for anybody with any kind of ability That’s what my research focuses on.” To do that she tries to understand how people make decisions about getting around how infrastructure availability influences those decisions, and how they might be prompted to make different choices She hopes for an urban system with less car dependence and congestion and more active transportation and spaces for social connection Her methods are statistical and econometric She uses emerging large-scale passive data (think sensor data like data from LiDAR or location data from GPS) as well as small-scale survey data to understand how people use different transportation options her work lies at “the intersection of data analytics and travel behavior. “If we can better understand how users of urban transportation systems make choices about getting around and what might be hindering or helping them,” Misra said “we can help more people have better access to everything the cities they call home have to offer.” that access is about a lot more than planes “I have not yet found an element of life that transportation doesn’t touch in your everyday life,” Misra said “As we say in transportation engineering, ‘transportation by itself doesn’t mean much But transportation is that vital connection that connects you to opportunities and access.’ It’s a means to reach any goal.”   Garrido’s research is all about making transportation systems smarter and more efficient—whether they’re powered by electricity She’s published a study that demonstrates a more economical way organizations could plan energy use and refueling strategies for long-haul vehicles Her work uses data-driven models that consider fueling and charging infrastructure Charging facilities cost more during peak hours of the day By scheduling refueling or recharging of heavy-duty vehicles at off-peak times, organizations could potentially decrease transportation costs and relieve pressure on the energy grid “Electrical engineering right now is a really interesting field,” Garrido said “I can explore my research on machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop optimization frameworks for energy-efficient and low-emission transportation systems.” the real draw of engineering is the opportunity to innovate solutions that make a difference in the world “It’s not that I selected electrical engineering because I wanted electrical engineering © 2022  The Regents of the University of Colorado Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission All trademarks are registered property of the University Round 16 of the AMA Supercross series brought the action to high elevation in Denver where riders faced the unique demands of racing at altitude Honda placed three riders inside the top eight while 250SX West racing saw Jo Shimoda represent Honda HRC Progressive with a ninth-place finish Shimoda launched out of the gate in fifth aboard his CRF250RWE He held position in the early laps before gradually slipping back Phoenix Racing Honda's Gavin Towers finished 14th and SLR Honda's Parker Ross came through in 16th Quad Lock Honda Racing's Shane McElrath led the Red Rider effort with a sixth-place finish Phoenix Racing Honda's Dylan Ferrandis and Quad Lock's Joey Savatgy followed close behind in seventh and eighth Honda HRC Progressive's Dean Wilson battled throughout the race and secured his third-straight top-10 finish Valley Motorsports' Jeremy Hand rounded out the group in 20th Dean Wilson"My day in Denver was pretty good overall I struggled a bit in qualifying—just couldn't quite connect with the track or flow through the corners—but things got better in the night show I got pushed back when a Tuff Block got kicked out in front of me I had to work my way through the pack and was in a good battle the whole race I didn't even know what position I was in most of the time I was close to getting ninth on the last lap but just couldn't make it happen I just need to put myself in a better position off the start Big thanks to the whole team—they were awesome all day—and to Christian for stepping in as my mechanic tonight was probably one of my worst rides I'm not even sure how to explain it—it just wasn't there There's a lot of work to do before next weekend I'm just focused on finishing the season strong in Salt Lake City." 450SX Championship Points (after 16 of 17 rounds) 250SX West Region Championship Points (after 9 of 10 rounds) Additional assets are available as downloadable files. Please sign in or register here Chase Sexton entered Empower Field at Mile High in Denver aware that he was not in control of his fate for the first time in the 2025 season The only thing he could do was win the race and keep the pressure on Cooper Webb When he first walked the track on Press Day on Friday and saw the whoops Sexton has outperformed Webb in this section all season Sexton was in contention for the top spot during the first lap but was forced to be conservative at the end of the first rhythm sections when Malcolm Stewart cross-jumped Cooper Webb and forced Webb to cross-jump Sexton which incidentally was the color of Webb’s gear in Denver When Sexton caught Webb for the lead on Lap 4 Sexton didn’t look back and ultimately scored another dominant win — this time at 8.624 seconds — to keep his championship hope alive Webb led the race’s first three laps despite battling an illness throughout the day he knew finishing second would put him in a solid position entering Salt Lake City but he had Stewart and his teammate Justin Cooper to contend with in the late stages of the feature he was less enthusiastic to pass Webb than Stewart had been and Webb gutted out the final three laps to finish second Webb needs 16 points next week to clinch the title which means he can finish anywhere sixth or better Webb has finished worse than fourth only once when he was eighth in the second Anaheim race Cooper was a good teammate and did not pressure Webb overly in the final three laps knowing that the two points he would take from Webb would change the clinch scenario for Salt Lake City as both riders seriously wanted to score their third podium of the season Cooper held onto the spot and finished third to earn back-to-back podiums for the first time in his career Stewart grabbed the holeshot with the Webb and Sexton battle developing around him Webb chose a better line through the bowl turn leading to the finish jump and took the top spot on Lap 1 but Stewart did not allow Webb to gain much distance on him Cooper was slicing through the field and caught Stewart with three laps remaining but nearly spun out in the final corner and settled for fourth Aaron Plessinger finished fifth and scored his eighth top-five of the season He is 16 points behind Stewart in the contest to finish among the top five in Supercross points and points standings after Round 16 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver Heat 1Heat 2 450 Rider PointsManufacturer Points Here is the finishing order of Round 16 in Denver: Following the Denver Nuggets' Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Oklahoma City is now gearing up to face Denver in Round 2 of the NBA playoffs on Monday SEE ALSO: Denver Nuggets advance with 120-101 in Game 7, set to face OKC Thunder Monday With over a week since the Thunder's last game a 117-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to sweep the series the team has used the time off to prepare for either the Nuggets or Clippers 3 takeaways from Mark Daigneault as Thunder await next opponent Now that the Thunder's next opponent has been determined Oklahoma City is putting together the final touches to face three-time NBA MVP and 2023 Finals Champion Nikola Jokić as well as former Thunder star and 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook the Oklahoma City Thunder organization is continuing to ramp up the playoff atmosphere bringing in a new blackout City Edition playoff T-shirt for fans in each seat of the Paycom Center RELATED: OKC Thunder unveils game one playoff shirt ahead of Western Conference Semifinals The court will also be darkened to match the theme on Monday the Thunder are also holding a ticket raffle for fans hoping to be able to watch a Western Conference semifinal matchup in person Learn more about the raffle and how to sign up here. Participants will have until noon on Tuesday to enter Christian Hans is a Digital Content Producer for News 9 He joined News 9 full-time in July of 2022 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma SEE ALSO: Denver Nuggets advance with 120-101 in Game 7, set to face OKC Thunder Monday 3 takeaways from Mark Daigneault as Thunder await next opponent RELATED: OKC Thunder unveils game one playoff shirt ahead of Western Conference Semifinals Learn more about the raffle and how to sign up here. and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox