When Denver faces the Spurs many young Nuggets will be playing in their first playoff game.
It will be the first time any of Denver’s players have played a playoff game for the organization. Stars are born and reputations made in the NBA playoffs and others fall short when the pressure mounts. The Nuggets own franchise player Nikola Jokic will be counted on like he’s never been counted on in his NBA career and Mr. Clutch, aka Jamal Murray will be called upon to be at his best at times when every possession could be critical. Gary Harris will be asked to guard the Western Conference’s best, all while contributing his scoring punch.
The more experienced Paul Millsap will be asked to be the gutty veteran leader that Denver has coveted for so long and may have to set the tone on both ends of the court. The Nuggets may well need the Millsap from a stretch he had in March where he tallied 19.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg.
Will Barton will need to be “Will the Thrill” and the rest of the supporting cast will come to find out which players belong on an NBA playoff contender. Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, and Torrey Craig will be tasked to bring their talents from G League/College to the NBA’s biggest stage in the matter of a year. My failure to mention Mason Plumlee before this point is because I think his steady play is one of the few constants.
So the young Denver Nuggets will be tested vigorously and if they can pass they will enter the discussion of NBA’s elite title contenders. If the pressure and competition proves to be too much I’ll be writing articles about what we can do in the offseason to improve. Either way it’s going to be a fun ride for me and my fellow Nuggets fan’s. Buckle up the ride starts tonight!