Ranking the Nuggets' potential first-round playoff matchups from easiest to hardest
By Ben Handler
2nd Hardest: New Orleans Pelicans
Listing the Pels this high is sure to raise some eyebrows as they are extremely inconsistent, have very little playoff experience, and Nikola Jokic has owned them over the years. But if you catch them on the right night, they look like the best team in the NBA and they may have the highest ceiling of any team on this list.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram can both create offense in the midrange for themselves and others. Zion likes to get to the hoop more, while Ingram is one of the game’s best midrange shooting assassins.
They’ve got a veteran lead guard and sharpshooter in C.J. McCollum helping the two young stars run the offense and a legitimate veteran offensive post presence in Jonas Valanciunas. They can flank their stars with snipers like Trey Murphy and Jordan Hawkins, and trot out elite defenders like Herb Jones, Dyson Daniels, and Jose Alvarado.
New Orleans has one of the deepest teams in the league, with incredible versatility. The biggest problem has been head coach Willie Green’s inability to find the right lineups and push the right buttons consistently. But when he does, and it clicks, it looks amazing. If everything came together at the right time in a playoff series, things could get ugly for the team on the other side, even the Nuggets.