 Dennis you're listed as probable with the back. Can we expect to see you go tonight? Yep. How have the last few weeks been for you in this recovery process? They've been the first couple of days was tough because I was in pain couldn't move couldn't you know I was I was hurting I was in a lot of pain but um you know I came in was doing my treatment they left me back on the road trip which was a good idea on their behalf just in terms of traveling sitting on a plane and things like that but I came in every day got my work in and I feel better I'm ready to go now. How tough has the season been for you? You missed some time you came back played well for a couple of games and that went right back out on the line. It's an NBA season man it's like life ups and downs you know I just deal with it as it comes I don't look at it as tough uh shit I've been blessed with enough strength to deal with it I'll be all right. What did you kind of notice from you know watching on TV watching film on that road trip? I feel like we weren't competing at a high level honestly I just feel like we went out there and we was we just going through the game almost like we was trying to get the games over with you know we got to come in every game and feel like we can win and understand that ain't nobody gonna give anything to us everything gotta be taken so we get that mentality back I think we'll get back on the right track. How much do you think that was just the road trip and the grind of those five games just draining everybody a little bit with that mentality thing? Um I don't know man some people say that I ain't really big on the excuse man like I said uh you don't never ask for no easy burden so that's what comes with being an NBA player that's part of the job we gotta go out there and do what we're supposed to do and uh week we I feel like we had to let our fans down and we let our coaching staff down because everybody put a lot into it so we didn't we didn't hold up our end. How good was it just to kind of come back here in this building to have a shoot around coming off of the losses and just what was the message as a group today this morning? Detail we gotta be uh we gotta pay attention to details and have some gameplay and discipline that's what's been the key for us and uh like I said I think if we do those things we come out and compete we'll get right back on the right track. A lot of the guys on the road trips that they miss your athleticism your spirit for what you bring coming off the bench for this group when you look at this Nuggets team what will it take defensively and execution-wise when you have a Nicole Jokic at Jamal Murray on the other side of things? They got guys as All-Stars Jokic MVP um Finals MVP so it's not like oh we're gonna come out here and do this and we're gonna stop them uh we just gotta follow the game plan you know we gotta follow the game plan get them to choose the shots that we wanted to take compete and uh you know we just gotta trust in that we gotta trust in that that's gonna lead us we can't put our heads down that's one thing for sure can't put our heads down and and keep going. A lot of the guys I think are Jaka said that there needs to be more physicality do you see that that was missing on this road trip as well and what you guys mean now? Absolutely absolutely that's just that's a by product of competing you know I'm saying or or whether it was being comfortable I'm not really sure what it was but we got to go out and play for each other you know from top to bottom everybody got to go play for each other uh whether you're getting shots or not you know it's it's all about it's a team sport you know I mean somebody got to sacrifice something if we're trying to win and that just is what it is. During that's when you look at over the last few weeks kind of shots at the rim for the team have gone down has that been something that's been addressed shot selection getting to the rim that sort of stuff? I think people are pretty aware of what's going on um you know universally in the NBA you want to stay away from so many mid ranges and we settle for a lot of them uh you know like I said it's a team game man everybody we got to understand sacrifice you're not going to get to do whatever you want to and that is what it is you know what I'm saying uh we need shots at the rim you got to have room pressure no matter who your team is that's an important part of winning games so we need that. It's one of these last couple of weeks when you were out what were the conversations like and how did you kind of keep in touch with the guys on the road? Well coming in and playing a couple games and then being out for a road trip I kind of felt like I was letting my team down so I had reached out to them before they took off and just let them know like I wish I could be there um and they kind of fuck with me that I couldn't so you know I addressed that and let them know how I felt and then uh you know I would just keep communication with them throughout the games like after the games we all got a group chat and I'll you know I'll send my thoughts or tell them like all right we we got to come out execute we need this one and things like that just trying to trying to have a uh a vocal presence even while I'm not there it's a little tougher when you're not when you're not tangible you know what I mean but you know I try my best so uh let's just try staying communication with the team. And guys are struggling like say Mikael's struggling with the shot like how do you try to as a vocalist try to encourage guys when they're kind of either slumping or going through a rough patch how do you try to you know keep them encouraged on what they need to do? I mean to be honest they ain't really too much vocally you can tell them like hey keep doing this keep doing this but you know people got family you know and the family is going to tell you right or wrong you know hey shoot all the shots or or make all these passes or whatever like that's that's how I go I think it's more so leading by example you know I'm gonna get out there whenever I play it's just uh I'm leaving it all out on the floor so you never see that and that's uh mistake or not make a miss I'm you know I'm going 110 whenever I get a chance too so uh it'll be more so like just kind of leading by example or showing like you know we all out here with you bro we all out here struggling too it is what it is you know I mean it's not just used the whole team. And since you talk about coming out there you giving it 110 percent when it comes to tonight's matchup will there be minutes restriction for you or will that be the same that we've been saying? I don't know I don't know I just know I'm gonna come out and do my best to uh be Dennis Smith Jr put my best foot forward and try to give us a win whether it's five minutes or 35 you know what I'm saying if you sell to me I'll be out there for 48 you know but you know it's not my decision coach you know he knows what's going on he knows what's best for the team so like I said whatever minutes I'm giving I'm gonna compete this isn't directed about any one player but let's say you're coming off the bench and you're winning your minutes but the team overall is losing or the reverse how do you kind of go through that mentally where let's say your minutes or whoever's aren't reflective maybe of the overall direction um what would you do if that was your I mean I wouldn't separate myself from the team but obviously maybe there's a disconnect where you're on the court you know it might be not tough to deal with but something that you're thinking about you know what I mean yeah I mean that's human nature for that to be something that you think about that'll be anybody but it can't be something that you focus on you know what I mean I'm not gonna focus on shit that I have no control over because uh that's how you start you know you start losing your mind you know what I'm saying and I've been there before I'm seven years in so that's stuff stuff that I can't I have no control over I really don't even it's just I don't think about it at all