With new additions to bolster the squad and the departure of a key starter, the Denver Nuggets will arrive in Abu Dhabi to tip off their preseason next month looking to rebuild a cohesive unit that can deliver a second NBA title in franchise history, to go with the one they secured in 2023.
Denver are scheduled to face reigning champions Boston Celtics in two preseason games at the Etihad Arena on October 4 and 6, and while head coach Michael Malone hopes to get his team in shape as soon as possible, he says there are also other priorities for them during their upcoming visit to the UAE capital.
“I think I speak for everybody in our travel party that we're excited to visit a part of the world that most of us have never been to, to meet many wonderful people and to try to embrace the culture,” Malone said in a Zoom call on Thursday.
Malone will be taking part in clinics for local coaches, and hopes to make a positive impact on the basketball community in the Emirates.
“What I hope that we can accomplish is when we come to Abu Dhabi and we do some clinics that we can maybe teach and help some young coaches over there learn some of the things that we do in the NBA as coaches,” he added.
“And I know that we have the best players in the world, but it's also about fundamentals and teaching young boys, young girls, the fundamentals of the game.
“Our hope is we come over there and we can help the coaches in Abu Dhabi become better coaches and learn a thing or two that will help them in their respective programs.”
This will be the third edition of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games and will pit the last two league champions against one another.
Nuggets superstar and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic returns to the capital for the second time in three months, having taken part in a training camp with Serbia in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Olympics in July. But the majority of his teammates will be visiting the region for the first time and coach Malone believes there is a lot to look forward to.
“My mindset is to have a very open mindset. I love to travel. And the great thing about the game of basketball is that that ball has brought me all over the globe. And what unites people from different backgrounds, from different cultures, is a love for the game,” he said.
“This is the third iteration of the Abu Dhabi Games, which we're very, very proud to be a part of, and the goal is to go over there and just try to immerse yourself in the local culture. Be thankful for them hosting us in their country, in their city, in front of their fans and to put on a good show.
“We want everybody to walk away from these two games having learnt a little bit about the Denver Nuggets, having learnt a little bit about the Boston Celtics, and enjoying watching some of the best players in the world. So I go there with a very, very thankful mindset, open mindset, and being appreciative to be a small part of something special.”
Jokic and Jamal Murray have together formed a formidable partnership that brought Denver a first NBA title in the Nuggets’ 47-year history last year.
After a disappointing defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs last season, Jokic and Murray are expected to get the Nuggets back on track. But they’ll be doing it without the help of starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed a three-year deal with Orlando Magic earlier this summer.
Some reinforcements were brought in to help cushion the blow of losing Caldwell-Pope and Malone feels he has all the ingredients to help guide the Nuggets to a second ring.
“One thing I know about the NBA is that things are always changing. Change is inevitable,” said Malone.
“And I mention that because last year’s team, we lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was our starting two guard, a big part of us winning a championship the year before. You sign a 17-year veteran in Russell Westbrook, who will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, we're so excited to add Russell Westbrook and his family to our family.
“You add a player from Croatia, NBA veteran Dario Saric, who has been a part of some very good, talented teams, and we welcome Dario and his family.”
The Nuggets first-round draft pick DaRon Holmes tore his Achilles during the Summer League and will not play in this upcoming campaign but Malone is happy to have him on board, along with the other young players on the roster, which he insists is about more than just Jokic.
“Nikola is a great player, and for me as a coach, and what I learnt many years ago from my father, who was also a coach, is that great players make everyone around them better, and Nikola has done that year in and year out,” said Malone.
“We know that he's one of the greatest players to play the game, as proven by his three MVPs, but as we add players around Nikola, it's always about complementing his skill set, adding guys that can play with Nikola, thrive with Nikola and Jamal Murray, who we feel is one of the best players in the NBA as well at his position.
“Michael Porter Jr, Aaron Gordon, a lot of the guys that have been here for many years, and Nikola is great, but we also have a lot of other talented players, and now we have to find a way to speed the process up of bringing all these players and new players together to become a family and attack this upcoming season.”
Last season, the Nuggets were trying to become the first back-to-back NBA champions since Golden State Warriors won in 2017 and 2018.
“The toughest part about that was that if you don't win a second championship in a row, everybody thinks you failed. And you had 29 teams every night coming after us, as we had a bullseye on our back, we were the defending champs, and everybody wanted to dethrone us,” explained Malone.
“And now that torch is going to pass to the Boston Celtics, and they'll have to experience that. But I have to say, I give our players a lot of credit. Throughout the season, there were times that we had to remind ourselves of who we are and remind them of what we were trying to accomplish, in terms of being a back-to-back champions, and then ultimately, when we lost to Minnesota in the second round, that was devastating for all of us. But that also allows for you to take an opportunity to look within and find out how you can become better as a player, as a coach, as an organisation.
“Because once you've tasted that success of being a champion, everything motivates you to try to get back to that, to experience it once again. And as we open up the season with the Abu Dhabi Games, that's something that we hope to try to get back to.”
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
AL%20BOOM
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Racecard
%3Cp%3E6pm%3A%20The%20Madjani%20Stakes%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(PA)%20Dh97%2C500%20(Dirt)%201%2C900m%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20Graduate%20Stakes%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20Dh100%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Longines%20Dolcevita%20Collection%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20Longines%20Legend%20Driver%20Collection%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Longines%20Master%20Collection%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Longines%20Record%20Collection%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Longines%20Spirit%20Collection%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
