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Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets would have never been swept in the WCF.

By Michael Mannen

DENVER, CO - APRIL 5: The Denver Nuggets react during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 5, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 5: The Denver Nuggets react during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 5, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Denver Nuggets would have been a real threat to the Golden State Warriors without Kevin Durant.

The Denver Nuggets would have never been swept by the Golden State Warriors.

The Portland Trail Blazers lost in humiliating fashion to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

After being eliminated, Damian Lillard stated that he believed the Blazers would have beaten the Warriors if they Jusuf Nurkić had been healthy. Lillard has also stated that he was injured in the series as well.

Nurk is an excellent player. During the regular season, he averaged 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds. However, Nurk was absent in the first and second round of the playoffs.

The Warriors also had to deal with injuries in the playoffs. The Warriors without Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins beat the Blazers in games 1-3. Also, the Warriors with Andre Iguodala out due to injury beat the Blazers in overtime at home.

The Warriors were champions before signing KD and Cousins. Moreover, the Golden State Warriors did eliminate the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals without KD.

The Warriors beat the Blazers because they were the better team and because Stephen Curry is on another level than Lillard.  The Warriors also did a fantastic job of double-teaming and neutralizing Damian Lillard.

In Nurk’s absence, Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood played much better than expected. There is no way that the Blazers forecasted that Kanter and Hood would play so well in the playoffs. And Meyers showed up big time in game 4.

Without Kanter and Hood playing some of the best games of their careers. The Blazers would have never even made it to the Western Conference Finals! Not having Nurk was never an issue for the Blazers until they got to the Western Conference Finals.

Plus, this is not the first time the Warriors have swept the Blazers in the playoffs. It was a foregone conclusion that the Warriors were going to beat the Blazers in the WCF.

The Nuggets may not have beaten the hobbled Warriors in the WCF, but they would not have lost in such disgracing fashion.

The Clippers managed to win two games in the first round against the Warriors with KD. The Spurs last season with just LaMarcus Aldridge beat the Warriors in one game at home. The Nuggets beat the Spurs after they added DeMar DeRozan to their roster. During the regular season, the Nugget managed to beat the Warriors in one game.

I guess we will have to wait till next year to find out how the Nuggets and Warriors matchup in the playoffs. However, the Warriors would have never swept the Nuggets without KD.