The Nuggets have finally stopped riding their main two horses to exhaustion.
In the Denver Nuggets' last two games, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic have been given the chance to sit out and rest after playing a ludicrous amount of minutes in March (Murray is averaging 39.1 mpg, and Jokic 39.8).
While the Nuggets dropped Wednesday's road game to the Lakers, one of the teams Denver has been jockeying against for the two seed in the West, the Nuggets did the right thing by prioritizing health over seeding.
Here's why.
The West will be tough no matter what
I believe Oklahoma City is an overall better team then the Nuggets, and Denver has no one who can really match up with Shai. Minnesota is a matchup nightmare, and has Denver's number. The Lakers have JJ Redick, who has proven himself to be a brilliant coach, LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Golden State has the best shooter ever, and a rejuvenated roster after trading for Jimmy Butler. The Memphis Grizzlies also aren't an easy out at full strength.
The point being? The Nuggets can't control who they play, and they'll probably have to play someone really good in the second round and conference finals no matter what.
Would they rather avoid the Wolves or Thunder in the second round? Sure.
But right now, having the two seed guarantees you absolutely nothing from a matchup perspective. Seeds two through eight are only separated by six games in the loss column. The current two seed Houston Rockets would probably draw the Minnesota Timberwolves if the playoffs started today. Not exactly a first round reward.
It's not worth having an exhausted or injured team to MAYBE have a better second round matchup. But that’s not the only reason.
It's time to objectively judge the roster
The Nuggets are not a young, up and coming team. It's not about making it as far as possible, and feeling like you are making progress. The Nuggets have already won a title, and they have the best player on the planet at the peak of his powers. The goal posts have been moved. If the Nuggets are playing to avoid other teams based on matchups, or burning their starters into the ground for home court advantage, what does that say about their faith in their roster?
While the Nuggets went 16-4 in the 2023 playoffs, they've now gotten slightly worse, two years in a row. It's easy to look at last season, and say the Nuggets would've won the conference if they were healthy. Honestly, it's not an unfair assessment. But, if the Nuggets had been healthy and lost anyway, would the front office have been less complacent? Would they have had a more objective idea of how far the rest of the NBA had caught up to them, and been more willing to ship Michael Porter Jr. out of town?
I’m not saying the Nuggets shouldn’t want home court advantage, and losing in the playoffs would be good. I’m simply saying that the Nuggets either need to win the title, or have a clear idea what piece they’d need to add to do so. The worst case scenario this year is that the Nuggets aren't fully healthy, and lose in a later round. In that scenario, the front office could have another excuse to run it back next year without making significant changes.
The Nuggets could come together and win the title, or, they could lose early and get a heavy dose of reality. But either way, it is imperative they get healthy, even if it costs them a top four seed.