By Jordan Long
The NBA season tips off on December 22nd with a doubleheader. The featured games are the Golden State Warriors heading to Brooklyn to take on the Nets and a battle of LA when the Clippers face the Lakers. The Denver Nuggets’ first game of the year is on December 25th.
Last year the Denver Nuggets ended as the 3rd seed in the Western Conference with a 46-27 record. Denver managed to beat the Utah Jazz and the L.A. Clippers in the playoffs when they were down in the series 3-1. They were no match for the L.A. Lakers who beat them in 5 games.
Looking at the this season, Denver has the 3rd best odds in the Western Conference to advance to the NBA Finals. The two teams who Vegas has ahead of them are the L.A. Lakers and the L.A. Clippers. The Lakers make sense because they are the defending champions. They are still going to be difficult to beat with Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
The Clippers are basically the same team that lost to Denver. They have their two “superstars” in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. They didn’t do much in the offseason to improve the team other than agreeing to a contract with free agent Serge Ibaka. The Clippers have a new Head Coach leading this team in Tyronn Lue. These moves may not close the gap on the Denver Nuggets because Denver proved they can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series.
For the Nuggets, Las Vegas and the experts aren’t talking about how young and dangerous this team is. Denver’s core is Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and Gary Harris. Denver is also hoping Michael Porter Jr’s game is going to improve at the NBA level.
Denver, though, lost two players to free agency, backup center Mason Plumlee and reserve forward Jerami Grant who both went to Detroit. Grant was the big name. He came off the bench to give Denver energy. He was great in the regular season averaging 12 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. In the playoffs, there were games he disappeared or couldn’t score, averaging 11.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Grant is a huge loss for Denver. Then again it may not be that big of a deal especially if Michael Porter Jr. shows growth at the NBA level. If he can shoot the 3 ball, find a way to score anywhere on the court, and play defense, he is going to replace Grant’s production.
The growth of Bol Bol is key for the Nuggets. He is going to be the backup center. Bol appeared in 7 games in the regular season scoring 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. In the postseason, he saw action in 4 games averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. He needs to show he can be the backup to Jokic. If not, Denver doesn’t have depth at the position.
The only other move Denver made was agreeing to a contract with free agent Paul Millsap. Millsap knew he wanted to stay in Denver. He is going to be the veteran player on this team. Millsap needs to show leadership as well as playing well on both sides of the ball.
Denver is still a force in the West. They may not have closed the gap on the L.A. Lakers but oddsmakers are sleeping on them. They showed they were the 2nd best team in the Western Conference last year and they will have to prove it once again.
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