The Nuggets made a bold decision down the stretch of the regular season, with David Adelman even saying “we’re not ducking anyone”, regarding the team locking up the 3-seed and setting up a first-round matchup with the rival Minnesota Timberwolves, who have made back-to-back Western Conference Finals, and ended Denver’s pursuit of a repeat in 2024.
For what it’s worth, the team and the fans seem fired up for this gauntlet that they’re now set to embark on. By winning on Sunday, they paved a path that will likely feature the Wolves in round one, the Spurs in round two, and the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
If they can get through that road and win a second title, it would be a legacy-defining run for Nikola Jokic and the franchise, one that would erase any talk of a “weak path” in 2023, when they didn’t face a 50+-win team and faced an 8-seed in the Finals.
It’s hard to even imagine anything sweeter than possibly knocking off your rivals and the team that beat you in 2024, then taking down the team that everyone is prematurely crowning and putting ahead of you while anointing Victor Wembanyama the best player in the world ahead of Jokic, followed by beating the defending champs and the team of this decade, who knocked you out last year, led by SGA, who has a chance to raise his own legacy damn near the level of the Joker.
An early playoff loss could redefine the future for Nuggets
This has the potential to be the kind of iconic run that lives on forever. It’s all there for the taking.
At the same time, the downside is tangible. Denver has lost in the second round in consecutive seasons, but for good reason each time. They battled to the end in each series, but ran out of steam and dealt with injuries.
This season, they revamped the roster, and they seem to be as healthy as they’ve been in a long time, with the postseason kicking off. So with that comes a higher level of urgency and loftier expectations. Running the gauntlet sets up the hero arc nicely.
But it also invites the possibility of a disaster, losing in the first round. And while it’s not likely, it’s certainly in play now that they’re facing the Wolves. A second-round loss to the Spurs would be tough to stomach, but you could probably live with it. A WCF loss to the Thunder would be heartbreaking, but almost certainly forgivable.
But a first-round loss? Another loss to the Wolves? Not even being able to compete with the Spurs and Thunder, both led by younger superstars?
Spurs and Thunder are only going to get better
That would feel like a disaster after the past two seasons that fans have endured. Jokic is still the best player in the league, but this won’t go on forever. If the team can’t make a deep playoff run, the front office has to consider some real changes.
If the West appears to have passed this team by, with ascending superstars like SGA, Wemby, and Ant leading teams, it would be very hard to justify running it back, going into the fourth season after winning the title without even returning to the conference finals.
OKC and San Antonio, especially, are built for the present and the future, and as good as those teams have played this season, they're only going to get better. It's scary and surreal to even consider it, but for this version of the Nuggets, this may very well be their best crack at winning another ring.
On paper, and by the eye test, this team has everything it needs to do it. But the results have to be there. If this somehow all comes crashing down in just the first round, that would be a demoralizing outcome, and one that should have everyone reconsidering the future.
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