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January 16, 2023 By: Mark Knudson

Are the Denver Nuggets physical enough to win the NBA title?

Scoring is up…way up in the NBA this season. Will the defense-optional trend continue in the postseason?

It’s probably not fair to say that NBA teams aren’t playing any defense anymore. Most nights, the effort is there.

They’re just up against an offensive onslaught that’s never been seen before. The offensive skill sets of dozens of star players across the league have never been this diverse or impactful.

These guys can shoot and score from almost anywhere this side of half court.

Teams that have one of those superstars are flourishing. It’s not the usual suspects at or near the top of the standings at the halfway point, at least in the Western Conference. The defending champion Warriors are hovering around .500, so are the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, who will each have to scrape to continue to play past April 9. Lebron and the Lakers will be watching the playoffs on TV.

The Memphis Grizzlies, led by high flying/big scoring Ja Morant, and the New Orleans Pelicans, led by (a healthy) freak athlete Zion Williamson are both in prime position to earn home court advantage in this spring’s playoffs. The long dormant Sacramento Kings could get home court in the first round, too.

What’s going on here?

Both are trailing…barely…the team most observers think is the best team in the West, the Denver Nuggets, the team that leads the NBA in offense. What they all have in common is the ability to put up 120+ points on almost any given night.

No doubt, that as least as far as the regular season is concerned, offense will rule.

But what about the postseason?

Historically, playoff basketball in the NBA has featured a shift in gears. It’s slower, more methodical and far more physical. The refs don’t swallow their whistles…but they definitely do some gargling.

NBA history is full of teams that have run and gun their way through the regular season only to get bully-balled out of the playoffs.

That has happened to previous Nuggets teams more than once.

Which begs the question: Can this version of the Denver Nuggets – perhaps the most talented Denver team ever, and a team many are picking to win the NBA title – shift gears and successfully play a more physical style of basketball when it’s time to tip it off in the playoffs?

It’s not a team that is necessarily built that way.

Denver’s best player, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic can play any style and be a superstar. His skill set would probably actually be better served in more of a half court game (although he gets hacked with regularity on a nightly basis and gets far less than his fair share of the whistles.) Joker’s passing and shot making won’t be hampered that much by a little more bumping and grinding in the post.

His teammates, however, may find things a bit tougher.

Guard Jamal Murray and forward Michael Porter Jr. for instance, aren’t overly physical type players. Denver’s second and third best scoring options (after do-it-all Joker) can successfully be bullied.

Forward Aaron Gordon will certainly hold his own in a half-court game – in fact he’s Denver best “physical” style player. But can he be a big-time scorer in the playoffs? Guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown have been through the wars and should be fine, but reserves like Bones Hyland and Zeke Nnaji are likely in for a bumpier ride and a bit of an education, especially if Denver gets matched up with veteran team.

It may be the wrong year to throw out the old “offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships” adage. This could be the year that the most prolific offense gets it done in the end. But if it’s not, if history repeats, and the more physical style game is allowed in the playoffs, teams like the Nuggets will need to be able to adapt on the fly.