The Nuggets have hit the NBA All-Star break with a 36-19 record, good for third place in the Western Conference. But the team is on a hot streak, playing their best basketball of the season recently as they carry an eight-game winning streak into the break and they’re just a half-game out of the two seed.
The goal of the team has been clear since day one; to bring another championship to Denver. And while things got off to a slow start, they are looking threatening lately. Nobody is calling the Nuggets the favorites, but contending for a title doesn’t look like such a long shot either.
Nuggets’ championship odds
As of the break, DraftKings Sportsbook gives the Nuggets +1400 odds to win the title, those are the fifth-best odds in the NBA and the second-best odds of any Western Conference team. Denver is +600 to win the West, behind just the Thunder at +105.
Nikola Jokic MVP odds
Coinciding with the success of the Nuggets is another incredible season by Nikola Jokic. He is currently averaging a triple-double with almost 30 points per game. His efficiency has been immaculate as well and he finds himself entrenched in a battle to win his fourth MVP award.
Current odds have Jokic at +350 to take home this season’s award, behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder who is -500 at the moment. That seems like a big gap, but things can swing quickly. It’s truly a two-horse race as the next contender is Giannis Antetokounmpo at +8000.
Remaining strength of schedule
One thing about this Nuggets run is it has come against relatively easy competition. That’s about to change as Denver has the sixth-hardest remaining schedule based on opponents’ Net Rating. Unsurprisingly, West teams have harder schedules as that’s the deeper conference. Teams with harder schedules than the Nuggets are (in order) the Suns, Grizzlies, Lakers, Kings, and Jazz.
Remaining Strength of Schedule#NBAAllStar Break Edition
— Sravan (@SravanNBA) February 15, 2025
Teams are sorted from hardest to easiest average opponent strength pic.twitter.com/vJyoY4lzVL
Nuggets Injury Update
The Nuggets have been battling injuries all season long, but hopefully, they are going to get healthy in time for the stretch run. We’ve seen Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray successfully return from injuries recently and both look great.
Michael Porter Jr. missed the final three games before the break, but he was playing some of the best basketball of his career up to that point and he’s expected to be ready to go. Russell Westbrook has been out for several weeks with a calf injury, but Michael Malone said Westbrook is also expected to be ready coming out of the All-Star break.
Peyton Watson has missed almost a month with a knee injury. He should remain out but is due to be reevaluated very shortly. With any luck, he’ll be back in time to get into a rhythm before the playoffs. The same is true of Vlatko Cancar. He has missed the entire season, but there is optimism he can return before the end of the regular season.
Nuggets 2nd half outlook
The Nuggets need to start thinking about flipping the switch into playoff mode. They are still a very top-heavy team that needs to figure out the rest of the rotation. The team should keep Christian Braun in the starting lineup even when everyone is healthy.
That lineup of Murray, Braun, MPJ, Gordon, and Jokic is lethal and provides the best possible balance for a playoff series. After that, Watson should be locked in as a defensive stopper off the bench. Westbrook is a tricky one simply due to his recent playoff performance. Everything about this season has felt different as Russ has been amazing, but it’s hard to completely ignore history.
Russ has at least earned the chance to start the playoffs as the sixth man, but Jalen Pickett has played very well lately and at least gives Michael Malone another option. Julian Strawther is probably the last guy who can make a strong case for nightly playoff minutes.
He has been a solid bench shooter and scorer this season but still needs to get more consistent and lock in on defense. He deserves his spot off the bench, but he needs to be on a tight leash. Picket, Zeke Nnaji, and possibly Cancar are guys who could have their names called in certain spots, but not much more.
Ultimately, this will come down to the team’s frontline players being able to stay healthy, fresh, and put forth their best efforts. If Jokic and Murray are completely locked in, everything else will fall into place. We’ve seen glimpses lately of how deadly that can look and if that’s here to stay, the Nuggets are in great shape and the rest of the league may be in for a rude awakening come playoff time.