The Run For The 8th Seed…

The trade deadline is over and the run for the Western Conference 8th seed is on, as the current holders, the Denver Nuggets, try to do everything in their power to keep it.

The worst is over. Or at least, for those of us who were constantly biting our nails because of the trade deadline.

The time has expired, and a variety of teams have made changes to their respective rosters. Ones more significant than others.

And one team that was active in this deadline too, were the Nuggets, as they acquired big man Roy Hibbert from the Milwaukee Bucks for a protected second round pick.

Slick move for the Nuggets (and somewhat random) but we all stand by Connelly and we trust that this is for the best.

Everybody was looking for those big names to move, especially Indiana Pacers star, Paul George, who the Nuggets looked very closely but came out short, but nothing big or out of the extraordinary happened.

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But teams that are currently fighting for a playoff spot in the West did made a move, and this is only getting better by the minute.

The 8th seeded Nuggets made a move to acquire big man Mason Plumlee a week ago. Then today, they added another big man to their rotation in Hibbert. They managed to keep their key players in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, which is actually great news.

The Sacramento Kings acquired Buddy Hield. A great shooter and offensive machine. The cost? DeMarcus Cousins. But the Kings aren’t quite giving up yet.

The Trail Blazers were quiet in this deadline, but acquiring former Nugget Jusuf Nurkic can really help them out, as their GM Neil Olshey stated in the Trade Deadline Show with The Vertical “the team is going to be really competitive”.

Now, we get to more serious business, as the trade deadline winners, the New Orleans Pelicans acquired big man DeMarcus Cousins who is now pairing up with All Star MVP Anthony Davis. As it looks, New Orleans isn’t quite done yet, as they look to add more pieces on the back-court.

Finally, the Dallas Mavericks completed a trade, sending big man Andrew Bogut and shooting guard Justin Anderson the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Nerlens Noel. This move states that the Mavericks are indeed all in on that 8th seed.

Other teams like the Lakers and the Suns did make trades, but as of now, they are way back for that precious 8th spot. The Minnesota Timberwolves did not made a trade despite having talks with the Knicks for a possible trade involving guards Ricky Rubio and Derrick Rose.

So now, how does this affect the Nuggets?

Simple. There are currently four other teams behind the Nuggets looking for that 8th spot, and one of them now has one of the most feared front-courts in NBA History. I would firmly say that things just got interesting for the Nuggets.

If they want to keep that 8th seed, then they will have to play with all they have this next 26 games, as the Pelicans will try everything to take that 8th seed.

Must Read: W2W4: Denver at Sacramento

The run for that playoff spot is on, and our Nuggets are the current leaders. Do you guys think they pull it off? Let us know!