Mavericks on the brink of NBA Finals: How would the Nuggets have stacked up?

It may be painful for Nuggets fans to think about, but enough time has passed since the disappointing second-round playoff loss to the Timberwolves to process. And as fans watch the Mavericks disassemble the Timberwolves, up 3-0 and perhaps on their way to a sweep on Tuesday night, it’s impossible not to think about what a Mavericks/Nuggets series might have looked like.

The Mavericks memorably won a big nationally televised game over the Nuggets down the stretch of the regular season that ended with a miraculous Kyrie Irving game-winning buzzer-beater. The Nuggets won the first two meetings of the regular season by healthy margins, but those came earlier in the year before Dallas made their big trade deadline acquisitions.

Dallas was a different team down the stretch as they added PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford and finished the season rolling, on a 30-5 run with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving playing their best basketball as teammates. That has carried into the playoffs as the Mavs have been getting great two-way play from their starters and role players and they’ve cruised to an 11-4 playoff record and a 3-0 lead in the West Finals.

So how would the Nuggets match up?

The Nuggets certainly would have had an advantageous matchup down low. Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford have played very well, but those classic, deep-drop centers would have had their hands full with Nikola Jokic. He would have EATEN in that matchup. 

The Mavs also would have had a tough time containing Jamal Murray, as they lack athletic, quicker perimeter players who can keep up with the shifty point guard. The Mavs also would have struggled to contain Aaron Gordon in the dunker spot as they would have to commit extra resources to stop Jokic and the driving game of Murray.

The Nuggets defending the Mavericks

Denver struggled with the size and skill of the Wolves and didn’t have a great counter for Anthony Edwards, but they would be much better suited to guard the Mavs. Gordon has the strength to make Luka work about as hard as anyone and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be a solid matchup for Kyrie Irving. 

The rest of the Mavs role players have had good playoffs, but the Nuggets should have been able to largely contain the two stars without sending too much help. This is all hypothetical, and at the end of the day, the Nuggets didn’t make it so we’ll never know. But at least on paper, the Nuggets would have been heavy favorites to take down the Mavericks and reach the NBA Finals.