NBA Playoffs: How Deep and Dangerous are the Denver Nuggets?

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The NBA playoffs begin next Tuesday on August 17th. All playoff teams are utilizing these last few regular season seeding games to figure out potential playoff rotations and crunch time lineups. These past few weeks in the Association have displayed competition on a nightly basis between teams that we usually aren’t accustomed to. Whether the teams are bottom of the conference looking to build momentum for next year or a juggernaut that will battle for the Larry O’Brien trophy. The reason for all the high scoring close games was a reflection of how long players had been away from five on five live ball competitions due to the obvious ongoing pandemic. Amongst the playoff teams that have been partaking in seeding games but trying to stay in tune for a deep playoff run is the Denver Nuggets.

The Denver Nuggets have been quite the overachievers the past couple years finishing in the top three in the Western Conference including the third seed this year. Much of their team success is due to the recent surge of now Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic. Jokic, who is famously the most gifted and selfless playmaking center the game, has been the engine to the Nuggets offense since last year. The All-Star has posted 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists each of the past two seasons and was hearing some MVP buzz right before the global pandemic. He was a first-team All-NBA member last season and will certainly be in the conversation seeing the individual and team success he had this season. Nikola Jokic is helping evolve the modern-day NBA big man with his combination of size, playmaking, and ability to stretch the floor. He will help pave the way for the direction the NBA as a whole is heading to. The Nuggets have done an outstanding job catering to Jokic’s strengths/weaknesses by surrounding him with shooters/scorers such as Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, and anchoring presences such as Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee. This team put together has the versatility to contend right now but with additional maturity from its younger players, it’ll take this franchise to new heights and title aspirations.

The Denver Nuggets drafted 7’3 shot-creating swingman center Bol Bol with the 44th pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Even though the son of former 7-foot NBA pro, Manute Bol, didn’t appear in any of the Nuggets’ 65 pre-seeding regular-season games, he was a talent that the Nuggets couldn’t wait to unlock next to Jokic in the near future. Bol Bol was a five-star recruit and a McDonald’s All-American going into his freshmen year at Oregon. The skilled big man’s college career was derailed due to a left ankle injury that led to a stress fracture in his left foot. The stress fracture required surgery and the sure to be lottery pick was held to nine games. Bol Bol’s draft stock drastically fell as teams had their doubts about rolling the dice on him despite his talent. In Bol Bol’s nine games he posted 21 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in his brief stint as an Oregon Duck.

The ongoing pandemic gave sidelined players even additional time to rehab and work on their crafts. Bol Bol eventually made his NBA debut in the Orlando bubble during an exhibition against the Washington Wizards, putting up 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks. Bol Bol, who is most effective using his size/skill to score the ball as opposed to Jokic’s pass-first mentality, complements what direction the NBA is heading as well. Bol Bol, who is quite an advanced scorer for the enormous presence he is, can put the ball down taking opponents off the dribble, post up, and as well be a threat from the three-point line. This type of offensive package that Bol Bol brings to the frontcourt can unlock a potential deadly inside/outside game between him and Jokic for years to come. The Sudan native’s size can serve as an additional security blanket on the defensive end for Jokic with his unmatched wingspan and height to form a never before seen big man combo. Even with this additional size that Denver is stashing for the future, Bol Bol is not the only dynamic young piece that may be unleashed come postseason.

Michael Porter Jr. or better known as “MPJ” was drawing comparisons to Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant because of his combination of size/quickness and flawless offensive game. Coming out of high school Porter Jr. was the #1 recruit in the nation and the MVP of McDonald’s All-American game. Former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy, who was Porter Jr’s HS head coach at Nathan Hale (WA), said “It will be like LeBron James going to college,” Roy said. It might sound crazy but for those that have seen Porter play this season, it’s hard to argue.” Just like Bol Bol, Porter Jr’s college career was dictated by injuries. A back injury held him to just three games and back muscle spasms kept him from NBA draft workouts so there were a ton of looming questions on whether Porter Jr would turn out to maximize his once promised potential. Porter Jr’s back injury wasn’t described as anything specific at first but he underwent minimally invasive back surgery called an L3-L4 microdiscectomy to treat herniated disks in his back. Porter’s discomfort was caused by small tears in the outer layers of the intervertebral disks that allowed important lubricating material to leak out. Dr. Charla Fischer, a spine surgeon at NYU Langone Health summarized on how the injury may have occurred in the first place that “Usually [patients] have this back pain that’s not severe, but there’s sort of a dull ache for a while,“ Fischer says. “And then it gets worse and worse and worse as those micro-tears build up and then the [jelly] makes it’s way out, and that’s painful. “Then it herniates into the canal and all of a sudden the back pain isn’t that bad and you have severe leg pain or numbness or tingling or weakness in the leg.” That’s what was likely happening when Porter checked out of his first Mizzou game with a “tweaked hip.”

Unlike Bol Bol, MPJ was cleared for regular-season games but Nuggets head coach Michael Malone chose not to rush him back into things seeing how vital of a piece he is to the franchise’s future. Coming into the bubble, MPJ was given the green light with unlimited playing time and didn’t disappoint. Porter Jr is currently averaging 22 points and 8.5 rebounds a night on 42% shooting from three-point land. He also became the first NBA rookie ever to post 30 points, 15 rebounds, and five three-point field goals made in a game. Bill Simmons recently stated on his podcast “Michael Porter Jr just came out of the bait box for Jokic, and now Jokic is 20 feet from the basket and he’s got this guy making these little sneaky cuts. He’s hitting with these passes and then he’s going up in the air but kind of sideways. He’s one of those like there’s not many forwards who have the athleticism like that to bend left and right and ah I think he’s really exciting, you could argue he’s the second-best offensive player on that team and he’s barely played.” Similar to Bol Bol, MPJ possesses the talent to score from all three levels on the court. His scoring mentality fits perfectly with Jokic’s selflessness and the overall identity of the Nuggets.

The Nuggets have the depth, hierarchy, and perfect balance of experienced youth and youth to be a formidable title-contending team in the Western Conference for years to come. Point Guard Jamal Murray has made consistent strides in his game to be a star in the league as well and his playmaking/sharpshooting ability is a key to their offense. Veteran role players such as Paul Millsap, Will Barton, and Gary Harris have been a part of the recent rise of the Nuggets for a couple of years now and their contributions on both sides of the floor are vital. Monte Morris and Jerami Grant are young guns that provide sparks off the bench and are flexible pieces for whatever types of lineups Mike Malone wants to throw out there. The pieces are there for the Nuggets, but will they reach their mile-high hopes this season in the bubble?