The Western Conference in the NBA will be tough as nails next season. It seems we say this after every season, but this year it will be especially true. The reason behind this idea is that some of the best players in the league went from East to West.
For example, Paul George went from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jimmy Butler went from the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves. And other handful free agents remain in the West as well. In fact, the only All-Star who changed Conferences was Gordon Hayward. The former Utah Jazz forward signed with the Boston Celtics, making the C’s one of the favorites to go all the way in the East.
In fact, it only takes a quick look at the Western Conference to predict which teams will make the postseason in the 2017/18 season.
The Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder appear as locks to make the playoffs. Los Angeles Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Utah Jazz, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Memphis Grizzlies appear as candidates as well. However, there is one team no one has been talking about as much as they should. That’s the Denver Nuggets.
Denver does not have star players such as Minnesota (Jimmy Butler) or Portland (Damian Lillard). They don’t have the continuity that Utah and Memphis have. And well, it’s obvious to say they do not have the depth and talent of the alpha dogs in the Conference such as Houston, OKC, San Antonio or Golden State. But that doesn’t mean they are a bad team by any means. In fact, they have several interesting young pieces who can easily push the Nuggets back into the playoff picture as soon as this year.
Let’s a look at why the Nuggets might be a sleeper to make a deep postseason run this next season.
Two-Headed Monster In The Paint
Everything starts with Nikola Jokic. The Serbian center posted 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game last season. But the numbers do not tell the whole history in his case, as he was extremely important for Denver. He emerged as the face of the franchise and was one of the most versatile big men in the entire NBA. After all, he posted six triple-doubles, good for fourth-most in the league and only behind LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. And did I mention he is only 22 years old? Yeah, he’s good.
Jokic might not be enough, but Denver acquired the perfect partner for him this preseason in Paul Millsap. The former Atlanta Hawks player signed a three-year, $90 million deal during the offseason. And while many experts could say it’s a huge deal for a 32-year-old player, the reality dictates otherwise. Millsap will provide Denver with some much-needed veteran leadership, and he can flat out play as well. He is not the kind of player you would want leading a championship caliber team. But he is good enough to be the first- or second-option in a team like Denver. He fell into a great role within a great franchise. And he can provide the team with the boost needed to make a playoff push in the West.
Efficiency And Upside In The Perimeter
Denver is quite solid on the perimeter as well. They have one of the best young shooters in the game in Gary Harris, and Jamal Murray showed promise in his rookie year. Harris’ case is quite interesting, though. The third-year guard posted career-high numbers in points per game (14.9) last season and also hit 42% from three-point range. He also shot 50,2% from the field overall. Finding efficient, scoring guards is quite hard in the NBA these days. The Nuggets need to hold on to Harris and make him one of the focal points of the offense if they want to be successful.
As for Murray, the second-year guard should battle Nelson for the starting spot during pre-season. But it wouldn’t be a shocker to find him as a starter for the season opener against the Utah Jazz on October 18. Murray averaged 9.9 points per game and only shot 33.4% from three-point range, but he has all the time in the world to improve. The sooner he can build a rapport with Harris, the better for Denver.
Deep Roster Overall
And if that wasn’t enough, they are also deep on the bench. The second unit could feature players such as Will Barton, Kenneth Faried, Nelson and Emmanuel Mudiay. Most of them could start on other teams, and elements like Faried and Mudiay could be used as trade bait to land another starter.
The Nuggets might lack a true point guard since Mudiay failed to progress as expected, though. And if they are in contention this season, there is no doubt they will be on the market trying to acquire one. But that would be getting too far ahead when the season has not even started yet.
What matters right now is that Denver is a team to watch this upcoming season. Even if the rest of the league do not talk about them as much as they should.