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It has been an offseason of power moves in the NBA’s packed Western Conference – the Golden State Warriors have been broken up, stars have packed up and moved to new cities as all eyes seem to be on Houston and the hallway battle in Los Angeles.
But it seems the NBA world is forgetting about those pesky Denver Nuggets, the young team that shocked the league last year as they recorded 54 wins and were one win away from the franchise’s first conference finals appearance since 2008-09.
This season the Nuggets are primed to take the next step and are destined for the NBA finals.
Are they a sexy pick for the national or international media? No, Denver clearly don’t play in a big market where the star shines as big as the city lights – they don’t play in a market where they are even the number one team in the city.
But what they lack in market size they more then make up for in passion and chemistry. The Nuggets are one of the closest knit teams in the NBA – they are spotted together regularly around town, being a young group they share similar interests and cheer for each other successes. They play with a chip on their shoulder and this group is desperate to show the league that they are not a flash in the pan.
(Photo by Lizzy Barrett/Getty Images)
Putting their closeness aside, what the Nuggets have going for them – unlike some of the other contenders in the west – is familiarity not only with each other but also the coaching staff and more importantly what the team demands of them. The core of this unit has stuck together returning nine of their top playoff contributors.
Denver were aggressive in the offseason and added a piece that will help them get better right away. Jerami Grant is an athletic six-foot-eight with a seven-foot wingspan who plays both guard and other positions – he is a versatile player that can not only score but be a massive addition to defence.
They also have the x-factor that is Michael Porter Jr. if he can stay healthy – Porter is a phenomenal talent but missed his rookie year with a back injury.
The 14th pick from the 2018 Draft won’t get a big role to start this season – like all rookies he has to get used to the grind that is the NBA – but in the playing time he does get, he has the opportunity to be the wing player Denver needs.
Porter Jr. has the potential to be the best shooter on the Nuggets and while there is tremendous upside, patience will be required given his limited game time over the last few years.
Denver is year older – and now have playoff experience – so the natural progression for this team is to improve on that 54 win mark of a year ago.
However – as everyone is well aware the west is now littered with star power and the Nuggets only have one top ten talent on their roster – the big question mark on Denver is whether Nikola Jokic with a solid support crew will be enough to dethrone the star duos of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George or LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The answer should be yes – it is easy to forget Nikola Jokic is only 24 years-old coming off his first all star season, where he finished fourth in the MVP race. The ceiling for him is unknown, but he will only continue to get better and will no doubt be in the running to be the Nuggets first MVP in the NBA era.
(Photo by Lizzy Barrett/Getty Images)
Last year he spurred his team to within four points of an unlikely West Conference finals appearance with a mammoth 25.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in a dominant playoff run. The biggest knock on the Nuggets last season was the defensive problems of their starting five despite finishing as the tenth ranked defence.
Torrey Craig should be able to blossom as the starting small forward, which will give the Nuggets multiple defensive options against the star wings of the Western Conference.
Unlike Los Angeles or Houston, the Nuggets have the greatest home advantage in basketball – they play a fast up tempo brand which suffocates visiting teams due to Denver being a mile high above sea level. For visitors, winning in Denver will be as rare as rain in the Sahara.
If you are Nuggets fans it’s time to be excited – this era will be better than the years of Carmelo Anthony.
Denver are built for a long run of success and – after years in the NBA abyss followed by playoff heartbreak – it’s time for the Nuggets to turn the dream of getting to the NBA finals into a reality.
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