On the Denver Nuggets rise to the league’s elite, the team has had several rivals. In the beginning, there was a rivalry with the Minnesota Timberwolves, borne out of the game 82 play in game, then the Portland Trail Blazers given the relation to personnel and playoff battles.
But the Nuggets are much better than those teams now and after a disappointing loss to the Pheonix Suns in the 2021 NBA playoffs, are we seeing a new rivalry begin?
Denver handily beat the Suns in their first matchup of the 2021-22 season, winning 110-98 following a 59-40 second half stretch, including this beautiful stop and pop by Michael Porter Jr.
https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1451032550298697728?s=20
Nikola Jokic led the way, as always, with 27 points and 13 rebounds while MPJ looked comfortable in his new role as the second scoring option. While Porter only had 15 points, he didn’t rush his shots and took what the defense gave him.
Similar to the battles between these two teams in the playoffs, there were quite a few technical fouls to go around including double techs between Jokic and Devin Booker and Aaron Gordon and Jae Crowder.
It comes after an unsettling finish to the second-round series in which Jokic swung down at the ball after a missed shot, swiping Cam Payne’s face on the way.
He told the media after the game that the foul that saw him ejected wasn’t intentional:
"“I wanted to change the rhythm of the game, I wanted to give us some energy, maybe change the whistle a little bit, so I wanted to make a hard foul. Did I hit him, did I not hit him? We don’t know. So I say sorry if I did.”"
Several Phoenix players came to Payne’s defense and got right up in Jokic’s face. No fight broke out from the usual NBA player chest-puffing, but it ended Jokic’s night early which led to an early end for the Denver Nuggets’ season.
Side note: I wonder who would win if a fight did break out between Jokic and Payne…
It completed a sweep that was unfortunately foretold by ‘Suns in 4’ guy, a fan who yelled that exact phrase in a fan’s face following a small fight in the arena.
‘Suns in 4’ guy became a bit of a cult hero in Phoenix for all of a week with Booker paying for the fan’s tickets to a game later in the playoffs per ESPN‘s Zach Lowe.
The Suns organization and some players walked back their enthusiasm when fights broke out between fans in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the LA Clippers. Despite an official statement, a fight also broke out in Game 4.
Has anyone seen the Suns in 4 guy? Asking for a friend...
— Nugg Love (@Nugg_Love) October 21, 2021
While it all started as a spur of the moment call by a Suns fan, it didn’t go down too well with Denver Nuggets fans. The series was not a true representation of what Denver can do. Jamal Murray was sidelined with a torn ACL and Nuggets weren’t at full strength.
When Murray returns, and for much of this season, the Nuggets are title contenders are one of the league’s best teams. Being one of the best often leads to having rivals and it’s safe to say that this team has outgrown their old rivals in Portland and Minnesota (for the best reason of all: Denver’s too good), maybe the Suns are a good rival to have?
With MPJ’s extension, alongside the core of Jokic, Murray, and AG, the Nuggets will be one of the West’s elite for seasons to come.
Compare that to the young nucleus of Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, and Mikal Bridges, it’s looking like the Suns will be part of the elite for the foreseeable future as well.
It’s pretty likely that these two will face off in another playoff series and this time at full strength. With the crowd animosity, the sheer amount of techs between the two teams, and their standings in the league, the Suns would make great rivals for the Nuggets.
Today, the Denver Nuggets got the leg up.