With all due respect to the front-running Dallas Stars fans in North Texas, my interest lies with the NBA playoffs. Specifically, I’m drawn to an unlikely and refreshing new superpower: the Denver friggin’ Nuggets.
If you’re like me and don’t require eight hours of sleep per evening, staying up for Friday’s quadruple-overtime thriller between the Blazers and Nuggets wasn’t a problem. The Blazers somehow survived this meat grinder of a game to win, 140-137, and take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Denver center and emerging superstar Nikola Jokic played 65 minutes in that loss, breaking all sorts of records in the process. “The Joker,” as he’s affectionately known, doesn’t have the sort of physique you’d expect to hold up for that ridiculous period of time. He’s a big reason the Nuggets were 13-3 in games decided by three points or less this season, but he missed a free throw in the fourth overtime that allowed the Blazers to finally win.
Based on my weird attachment to this team (I probably watched 40 Nuggets games on League Pass due to a limited social life), I tweeted that Denver would still win the series. This seemed foolish at the time based on the fact Nuggets coach Mike Malone was publicly apologizing to Jokic for not giving him more rest in Game 3. Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, a lethal shooter, was limping around late in the game due to a thigh injury.
On Sunday, Jokic and Murray put on a show in leading the Nuggets to a 116-112 victory. Nuggets forward Will Barton, who’d been benched due to horrible shooting in the Spurs series, hit two threes down the stretch to bury Damian Lillard and the Blazers.
The crowd at the Moda Center booed Jokic lustily throughout the game due to a belief he intentionally tried to exploit Enes Kanter’s shoulder injury in Game 3. Jokic fully embraced his role like a Von Erich-era wrestling heel and finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
With apologies to Bill Walton and perhaps Vlade Divac, I believe Jokic is the best-passing big man in NBA history. With the game on the line, he was whipping no-look passes to wide-open shooters.
The Nuggets have taken back homecourt advantage, and I believe they will earn the right to get steamrolled by the Golden State Warriors. I say this, in part because Denver couldn’t stay on the floor with Golden State this season. The Warriors can lose focus at times, but they seemed to relish the opportunity to crush the young upstarts. That aside, I fully believe the Nuggets have an NBA title in their future.
Jokic has been a reluctant superstar at times, but he and Murray have embraced the moment this postseason. Jokic’s an unstoppable force on offense who competes hard enough not to kill you on the defensive end. Murray is a 22-year-old Canadian who truly believes he’s the best player on the floor at all times.
Murray was so streaky against the Spurs it seemed Malone might give him the Barton treatment. Instead, Malone expressed how much he believed in his point guard and then watched him respond with a remarkable fourth quarter in Game 2 of that series.
This Nuggets team is what Mavs fans dream about having. Dallas has Luka Doncic in the superstar role, but the Slovenian sharpshooter isn’t as polished as Jokic. The Nuggets have 34-year-old Paul Millsap as the veteran leader to go along with the wildly athletic Gary Harris Jr., Barton and Malik Beasley. This team’s second unit, led by point guard Monte Morris (Iowa State), is one of the best in the league.
The Warriors have to keep at least one of their stars on the floor at all times. The Nuggets can make wholesale changes and barely miss a beat.
Lillard reminded us against the Thunder why he’s one of the best in the league, but he and guard C.J. McCollum have to carry a huge scoring burden. Unless he scores 40 points per game, I don’t see the Blazers beating the Nuggets two more times. Malone was smart enough to turn his team over to the selfless Jokic last season. His selfless approach permeates the roster.
The Nuggets are absolutely built to take down the Rockets and then challenge the Eastern Conference champion. It’s just hard to imagine the Rockets winning three more games against the Warriors, with Kevin Durant playing at this level. Durant and Jokic are having the best postseasons of the remaining teams. Kawhi Leonard is knocking on the door, but he doesn’t impact games as fully as Jokic.
The Nuggets were an irrelevant franchise that found their superstar in the second round of the draft. Harris had emerged as the star of this team two seasons ago, but now he’s accepted his role as a complementary player. Doncic may be able to quickly have a similar impact as Jokic, but the Mavericks don’t know whether Kristaps Porzingis can return to the brilliance he briefly displayed with the Knicks.
I know the Warriors and Rockets series is the headliner this round, but this Nuggets-Blazers matchup has been more pleasing to the eye. It’s strange to become a Nuggets addict and not really have an outlet for it. If you’ll continue to indulge me, I promise to mix in plenty of Cowboys opinions along the way.
Just remember who told you first when the Nuggets break through for an NBA title. And I’m leaning toward saying it happens next season.