They didn’t make an offseason splash signing. No highly touted free agent tours stopped in Denver. No bidding wars, no proclamations. No superstar players announcing, “I’m taking my talents to the Mile High.”
And yet the Denver Nuggets are among the favorites to win the NBA’s Western Conference, giving them a shot at the franchise’s first ever Larry O’Brien Trophy.
And they could very well do just that.
Denver has but a single All-Star on their roster – center Nikola Jokic. Forward Paul Milsap has been there before, too, and guards like Jamaal Murray and Gary Harris may get there eventually. But for now, the Nuggets are a collection of above-average pieces that fit very nicely together, even if the names and individual stat lines don’t really wow anyone.
The Nuggets do have something that very few other teams have – high quality depth. They have the kind of bench that can help weather the storm of injuries and slumps that are inevitable during an 82-game season.
Last December, Denver had four of their original starting five out of the lineup at the same time with injuries, and yet they somehow expanded their lead in the standings.
With every key component returning, plus the addition of power forward Jerami Grant and second year players Jared Vanderbilt and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets depth is now even better than last season. In fact, finding playing time for everyone has been difficult for head coach Michael Malone at the start of the season.
Through three games, Vanderbilt and Porter, along with a solid contributor from last season Juancho Hernangomez, have yet to see the floor.
This was and is a perfect recipe to win in the Western Conference. They finished one game back of the Golden State Warriors in the regular season standings a year ago.
But, this talented group hadn’t experienced playoff basketball yet. Seventh-seeded San Antonio took them to seven games before Denver won their first playoff series since 2012. In the second round, the Nuggets couldn’t keep the magic going against Portland, falling at home in a decisive seventh game against the Trail Blazers.
Does any of that matter this season?
Only in the context of what it can tell us about the challenges that lie ahead for this team. What they have going for them, and what they may lack.
The good news?
Playoff experience should no longer be a problem for most of the Nuggets. Now they know exactly what it feels like and what to expect. They used to be called “the young” Nuggets, but that moniker is no longer necessary. They’re still young in terms of age, but not in ways that matter more. They have every reason to be improved. The addition of Grant for example – an under the radar trade acquisition from Oklahoma City last year – gives them additional strength in the front court, particularly on the defensive end.
The bad news is that this collection of excellent players still doesn’t have a superstar, capable of taking control of a playoff game the way Kawhi Leonard did last spring, or the way LeBron James, Steph Curry and potentially others like James Harden have done and can do again. The West has a lot of those guys.
Jokic’s game includes being a great assist man, but you can’t get an assist unless the guy at the receiving end makes the shot.
And last year in the playoffs, most of the young Nuggets couldn’t make a shot.
That’s where things left off. Then came the quiet off season, and now, a solid 3-1 start to the new one.
So let’s assume things continue on this pace, and that this wonderfully deep roster lands Denver near the top of the Western Conference come playoff time. Let’s assume that they’re healthy and ready to go full throttle come playoff time. And let’s assume that LeBron’s Lakers, Leonard’s Clippers, Harden’s Rockets and Curry’s Warriors are there too. These teams/players are less focused on having the best record than they are on peaking come playoff time.
Expect the Lakers, for example, to rest LeBron and Anthony Davis for lengthy periods of time, sacrificing some regular season success in order to be at full strength for the post season.
And let’s assume Jokic is at the top of his game – which he was last postseason – but that his passes are still landing in the hands of guys who aren’t great finishers.
What happens to the Nuggets postseason hopes then?
What can make the outcome different for Denver next spring? It’s potentially bad news that Denver didn’t land a Super duper star in the offseason. Then again, they have a whole season to find out if Murray, Harris, Grant, or even Porter Jr. can become one.
Their title hopes pretty much depend on it.
Listen to Mark Knudson on Monday’s at 12:30 with Brady Hull on AM 1310 KFKA and on Saturday mornings on “Klahr and Kompany” on AM 1600 ESPN Denver.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say
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