Will Nuggets benefit from NBA hiatus?

The NBA’s extended hiatus could be of substantial harm or help to various NBA teams. Will it end up helping the Denver Nuggets?

The Denver Nuggets were one of the last two teams still playing on an NBA floor when the league decided to stop play. Their season came to a screeching halt when they lost to the Mavericks in Dallas.

But, the Nuggets might be one of the few teams that could benefit from the league’s extended break. If teams resume play during the summer, the Nuggets will have an advantage.

Their older veterans, such as Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee, Gerald Green, and Torrey Craig would have had a long enough break to provide them with plenty of rest before a playoff run.

With other teams visiting them in high altitudes, Denver’s deep roster  and home court advantage will enable them to gain the upper hand on the younger teams in the western conference such as the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans, who could all sneak up into the first round in of the playoffs and play the Nuggets.

But in the event that Denver ends up advancing deeper into the playoffs, they will have plenty of juice to contend with the Lakers, Clippers, and Rockets. The Jazz could still be somewhat of a threat, but it is worth wondering what kind of shape both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are in after their recent run in with the coronavirus.

Furthermore, the chemistry on that team appears to be completely shot. Denver suddenly may find themselves as one of only three teams that has a real puncher’s chance of making it all the way to the NBA finals.

In a seven game series, Millsap and Plumlee may be able to turn back the clocks a bit and give the Nuggets a little extra boost offensively to offset all the attention being given to Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Should play resume in the near future, the Nuggets are going to be in business and fast.