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Nuggest Complete Climb to Peak of NBA Mountain

Author Michael Cohen
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 12: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after a 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

For the first time in their 47-year history, the Denver Nuggets are NBA Champions.

Denver capped off its brilliant season to the number one seed in the West by beating the Miami Heat at their own Game in Game 5 of the Finals, using a smothering defense to slow down Miami’s attack in the second half to come out victorious 94-89 before a sellout crowd at Ball Arena.

Earning MVP honors, of course, was Denver’s big man in the middle, Nikola Jokic, who dominated the second half of this game to push Denver to the finish line. “The Joker” as he has been called by fans, finished with 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting with 16 rebounds.

Jokic drained a huge two-point bucket that gave Denver a slim 88-87 lead with 2:24 to go. After Jimmy Butler nailed back-to-back free throws to put Miami in front, Bruce Brown answered for Denver with a two-point shot of his own to give Denver the lead back at 90-89 with 1:31 to go.

With 27 seconds to go a bad pass by Butler was picked off by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who drew the foul, and hit both shots to put the game all but on ice.

For his part, Butler, who had a tremendous postseason run with Miami, finished the night with 21 points to pace the Heat.

Caldwell-Pope finished with 11 points, while Jamal Murray had 14 points for Denver in the victory.

The win was also the first NBA Championship for Queens, New York native, head coach Michael Malone, who once was an assistant on the Knicks about 20 years ago (we can hear Knicks fans whining already).

The victory continues Western Conference dominance in the NBA. Ever since the final title won by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1998, teams from the West have now won 17 of the last 25 NBA Finals. Most of those titles were won by the Lakers, Warriors and Spurs, with lone exceptions to the Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.

11 Things You’re Gonna Need To Be a Smoker

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So you’re thinking that you may get yourself a smoker this summer. Or maybe you’re going to get your baby’s daddy a smoker this Father’s Day. It’s a great idea. The home smoking revolution began a few years ago. And that’s when I dipped my toe into the smoking waters by buying a pellet smoker.

The traditional smoking faithful are probably making a decision about my choice of a pellet smoker. Why? Because it’s a trendy thing that isn’t quite the traditional way of smoking. Huh? What are you talking about? I’ll explain.

Traditional smoking involves an actual fire and using flavoring wood for smoke. Usually, this is done in an “offset smoker” or “kettle.” The person smoking must add or remove fire depending on how hot the grill gets and has to add the flavoring wood. The pellet grill uses a different method: pellets are automatically fed from a hopper into a small burning unit when the temperature of the grill dips and needs more heat.

I got a pellet grill because I can set the temperature, stick a probe in my meat and monitor it wirelessly on an app on my phone. It’s pretty easy.

One thing to note, there’s a new grill that uses charcoal that has just become kinda popular, it’s called a “gravity grill”.

Now that’s explained, I can tell you from my experience with my pellet grill smoker that there are a few items that you’re going to need to be successful. So if you’re planning on buying a smoker for yourself or one for Father’s Day we’ve got you covered. Here are 12 things you need for smoking meat.

  • Headlamp

    What? A headlamp? Why? Yeah, this sounds crazy but to cook real pulled pork you need to cook a 9 or 10-pound hunk of pig for at least 10 hours. I’ve had cooks that have taken 15 hours. Sometimes this will require you to start or check on your grill in the middle of the night. A headlamp will keep your hands free and throw the light exactly where you need it.

    And yeah, I wake up in the middle of the night to start a cook. I’m crazy. It’s fun and it’s worth it when you taste how damn good your pulled pork is.

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  • Thick BBQ Glove

    You’re gonna need some protection for your hand. I bought a pair of these gloves but you know a little secret? I’ve never used both at the same time. I find that I’ve only ever used one of these because – for whatever reason – I use the other hand for something that requires more dexterity. So, maybe you just need one of these. But you’ll

    definitely need one because, even though we’re smoking low and slow… that low will still burn the crap out of you.

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  • Long Tongs

    Yep. Long ones. Like bigger than you think. It gets hot and crowded in there and the longer you can reach, the better you’re gonna be. Trust me on this, there ain’t no love for short tongs.

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  • A Solid Spatula

    Again. Long. And solid. You don’t want to spend half a day working on a cook only to have that glorious piece of meat on your deck. Nope, go sturdy on this. No plastic. Ever. You want all metal or metal and wood, like this.

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  • A tube

    The big complaint about a pellet smoker is that it doesn’t create as much smoke as a traditional off set smoker. And I have found in my experience that is 100% true. However, this tube can make up for that.

    Fill this tube with pure fruit wood and use some food friendly lighter fluid to get it started. Let the pellets burn for 8-12 minutes and then blow out the flames and put the smoking tube in the grill with the meat. It’ll create extra smoke flavor and make up for anything your pellet grill can’t quite do.

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  • Pure Fruit Wood Pellets

    You need to use pure fruitwood when you load pellets into a tube smoker. The pellets that you’ll use in your hopper (the main feed for a pellet grill) will be a mix of mostly hard wood like hickory or oak mixed with a little bit of fruitwood (cherry, pecan, apple) for flavor. This is because the fruitwood doesn’t burn as hot or as consistently as the hardwood; so a mix is necessary. Fruit wood is also much more expensive than hardwood, a 20 pound bag of only fruit wood pellets would be crazy expensive. But in the tube, gotta go with pure fruitwood.

    Note on pellets: Where you get your pellets and what brand makes the best pellet is an eternal discussion in the BBQ universe; like some kind of never-ending quest. My personal view is: Go for price friendly pellets in the hopper. Spend my dough on the pure fruitwood for the tube.

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  • Shopvac

    Huh? A shop vac? Necessary for BBQ? You’re clearly f’n nuts, Carl.

    No. No I’m not. Guess what you have to do with your pellet smoker after every other cook? You gotta clean that thing. The bottom of the smoker will collect tons of pellet dust and you have to get that out of there. Having a small, dedicated shopvac is perfect for this because there’s also a ton of grease in that smoker and it’s really tough to keep the vacuum parts clean. The last thing I want is to use my shopvac to clean up my SUV only to find grease from the smoker on my car. No, I try to keep the two separate OR AT THE VERY LEAST have different tools and nozzles for the vac.

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  • Gloves

    For use mainly while washing the greasy grill parts. Your hands will thank you.

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  • Probe(s)

    DO NOT buy any smoker that doesn’t come with temperature probes. One is absolute minimum. Two is good. FOUR IS WHAT I’D CALL SERIOUS. And you’re serious about this, right? If, for some reason, you need temperature probes my advice is to get something that works wirelessly with wifi so you can check the meat temp via their app. The way my pellet grill works, I can check the app from anywhere (like work or the beach or while on a mountain bike ride) to see how the meat is and what temp the grill is at. It’s friggin’ sick.

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  • Mason Jars

    You’re gonna end up with lots of rubs and sauces. I guarantee it. You’ll read up on a recipe and make it and then make it again with your own twist. Then you’ll double or triple the recipe. It’ll happen. You’re gonna need mason jars, big ones, with plenty of tops. You don’t need much else. Glass mason jars are the best. The glass doesn’t adopt any color or smell from your sauce and they’re easily washable.

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  • Dish Basin

    This thing is part of the “clean up” process for me. I got burned once cleaning my grill parts in my kitchen sink. I ended up needing a plumber to clean out the grease clog. So… do yourself a favor and get one of these, fill it with hot water and let that thing soak. Then, put on a pair of rubber gloves and clean the grill part with a scrub pad like Brillo or whatever. Your sink will thank you.

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Please note that items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time we published this list. Have an idea for a fun theme for a gift idea list you’d like us to create?  Drop us a line at shopping@bbgi.com. 

 

Michael Cohen is the News and Sports Director at Fox Sports Radio New Jersey and Magic 98.3 FM, as well as a radio production assistant with Fox and Magic in New Jersey. He started his career in Somerset in 2018 initially as a news fill-in at WCTC 1450 AM, and soon moved up to higher responsibilities in the ensuing years, assuming News & Sports Director title in 2021Prior to his time with Fox Sports New Jersey, Michael was play-by-play voice for New Jersey Jackals baseball, and as well as play-by-play and color for the College of Staten Island basketball (men and women), softball and baseball. Michael began his career as a news and sportswriter with the Jersey Journal of Hudson County.

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