It was certainly an up-and-down season for the Denver Nuggets. They struggled out of the gate but found their stride around the All-Star break. It appeared that they were on track for a two-seed in a loaded Western Conference, but injuries popped up, losses mounted, and toxic relationships behind the scenes led to the shocking firings of head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth in the final week of the regular season.
It was a shot across the bow for a team that came into the season with championship or bust expectations, but had lost four games in a row and was in jeopardy of falling to the play-in tournament.
But since interim coach David Adelman has taken over, the ship seems to be righted, at least for the moment. The Nuggets won big games against the Kings and Grizzlies and looked good doing set. They set themselves up in a strong position going into the last day of the season, needing just a win to secure the number four seed in the West and homecourt advantage in the first round.
Nuggets lock up 4 seed and homecourt advantage
And that’s exactly what the Nuggets did on Sunday. It was a bit of a surprise to see the Rockets trotting out most of their starters with nothing to play for, but the Nuggets had a higher level of urgency and overwhelmed them, getting a comfortable win in Houston, 126-111.
Even after all the tumult of the past few weeks in Denver, the team took care of business, secured the number four seed in the conference, and will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Nuggets avoid rival Timberwolves, draw Clippers instead
Winning their game wasn’t the only good news the Nuggets got on Sunday. With the Clippers defeating the Warriors on the road in Golden State, the Clips locked up the five-seed, which bumped the Timberwolves down to the six-seed, and the Warriors to the seven-seed and the play-in tournament.
The Timberwolves have had Denver’s number, sweeping all four games this season after knocking them out of the playoffs last season. Minnesota gives the Nuggets problems that no other team in the league seems to, and it seemed like they were destined to meet in the playoffs for a third straight season, much to the chagrin of Nuggets fans.
But things didn’t play out that way and now the Nuggets won’t have to worry about their bugaboo, the T-Wolves unless they meet in the West Finals.
Clippers not the worst matchup for Denver
There really weren’t any easy matchups in the West this season and the Clippers are no exception. This is going to be a battle and the Nuggets are going to have to play some of their best basketball to come out victorious. But it’s not a worst-case scenario and it’s a relief compared to the other likely option, the T-Wolves.
Denver will have the clear best player in the series in Jokic who has put up big numbers against Ivica Zubac in the past. Aaron Gordon has had some success guarding Kawhi Leonard as well. Slowing down James Harden and Norman Powell will be tough, but Denver can at least chase them with guys like Christian Braun, Russell Westbrook, and Peyton Watson.
It’s a hard matchup, but there are some solutions, and perhaps more so than in other matchups. The Nuggets also did beat this team in the playoffs back in the 2020 bubble. Granted, the cast of characters was pretty different, but still, it was Jokic and Murray against Kawhi, which isn’t nothing.
Early odds favor the Nuggets with home-court advantage, as they’ve been booked as a -195 favorite to defeat the Clippers. Moving on would likely bring on a matchup with the 68-win juggernauts, the Oklahoma City Thunder in round two. But, that’s just the cost of business in the West; if you want to win the conference, you’re going to have to go through a gauntlet.