RealGM

Denver is the defending champion, the championship team has remained almost the same and all the key players are healthy, but that does not mean that we should ignore what is happening around us!

Some strong teams are even stronger this season (Bucks, Suns, C's, Lakers, ...) and from today's perspective, the biggest mysteries for the upcoming season are what will happen to James Harden and whether Victor Wembanyama will justify the big "generational talent" expectations.

Denver's starting five is as good as anyone's. The question is whether Denver has the bench to match up.

Minny will be tough again. Phoenix has the star power. Lakers have retooled somewhat. The talking heads seem to like Phoenix to win the conference.

I still like Denver in the West. In the East, who knows but I didn't expect Miami last year to make it to the finals.

Bench and health are two key points.

FO strategy was to build the bench from draft to have them locked for 3-4 years. Although three drafted players are "veterans" we should expect some time to adapt and grow to NBA level. Question is how much time do they need, can Braun replace Brown (mostly offensively) and is Watson ready to play 15 minutes at Play Off level. And of course Reggie's role, if he can rule second unit during RS and unlike last season, contribute during Play Off

Health...everything is said, MPJ is already in a walking boot. I think MPJ still has pretty big margin to grow, but I am not sure if he will reach his ceiling or will remain as a elite role player. It is Malone's responsibility to involve him more offensively

Manolito wrote:Bench and health are two key points.

FO strategy was to build the bench from draft to have them locked for 3-4 years. Although three drafted players are "veterans" we should expect some time to adapt and grow to NBA level. Question is how much time do they need, can Braun replace Brown (mostly offensively) and is Watson ready to play 15 minutes at Play Off level. And of course Reggie's role, if he can rule second unit during RS and unlike last season, contribute during Play Off

Health...everything is said, MPJ is already in a walking boot. I think MPJ still has pretty big margin to grow, but I am not sure if he will reach his ceiling or will remain as a elite role player. It is Malone's responsibility to involve him more offensively

Just to clarify, sprained his ankle during practice and it swelled up, Harrison Wind says it is nothing too concerning. https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/injuries/denver-nuggets-star-reportedly-left-practice-in-a-walking-boot-michael-porter-jr

After (un)expected Harden's deal Clippers became the top-5 title contender overnight, overtaking the odds from the Warriors, Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, and Sixers. Big market team, with probably the most powerful NBA owner, now has 4 future Hall of Fame players where only Westbrook is washed and is not all-star level anymore. On the other hand, I think the NBA title is never won by a team whose 4 best players are guards or guard-forwards.

THE J0KER wrote:After (un)expected Harden's deal Clippers became the top-5 title contender overnight, overtaking the odds from the Warriors, Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, and Sixers. Big market team, with probably the most powerful NBA owner, now has 4 future Hall of Fame players where only Westbrook is washed and is not all-star level anymore. On the other hand, I think the NBA title is never won by a team whose 4 best players are guards or guard-forwards.

There's only one ball and 4 egos there's to deal with....and not a lot of chemistry. Still like the Nuggets chances at a repeat.

LAC frontcourt is Zubac, Tucker and Plumlee. Harden's trade does not solve their problems against Nuggets' overall size

Manolito wrote:LAC frontcourt is Zubac, Tucker and Plumlee. Harden's trade does not solve their problems against Nuggets' overall size

Jokic is their only problem. Outside of him, the Nuggets do not really play any "bigs" that are significantly larger than what most teams have. Every team has trouble matching up with Jokic and not just because of his size/strength.

So Garry Harris (Majic) is out for a while due to a groin strain. If memory serves correct, Garry had a lot of injuries and missed a lot of games with the Nuggets as well.

TunaFish wrote:So Garry Harris (Majic) is out for a while due to a groin strain. If memory serves correct, Garry had a lot of injuries and missed a lot of games with the Nuggets as well.

Yes and I still hated the trade - at first. But it sure worked out great for the Nuggets.

Why Clippers are still not recognized as tier-1 contenders with the Nuggets, C's, and Bucks? Kawhi-PG13-Harden trio definitely works and Westbrook is now a useful bench player. Zubac is injured but will be ready for playoffs while they have assets to regroup the roster and improve the frontcourt line.

I think the Suns are also underrated, KD-Booker-Beal played just a few games so far and their bench is short. Nurkic adjusted his game nicely, Grayson Allen has a breakthrough season, but Eric Gordon is the only useful reserve. If they add one single useful bench player before the playoff and stay healthy they will be better than last season.

The trade deadline will be interesting, a couple of teams with two big stars (Dallas, Lakers..) can improve much if they add some notable player.

Looks like a good night for the Nuggs, both OKC and MINN lose tonight, tying our record. Only LAC with fewer games played is in our way but the playing field is clearing.

skywalker33 wrote:Looks like a good night for the Nuggs, both OKC and MINN lose tonight, tying our record. Only LAC with fewer games played is in our way but the playing field is clearing.

If the Clippers lose today it would be an unseen bizarre situation where Nuggets jump in just three days from #4 to tie #1 without playing any single game!

Denver's backcourt is out with injury going into the all-star break. The rest of the starters look either banged up or tired with the minutes being played.

Good time for a break.

Nikola Jokic: "I don’t want to leave Denver... If Luka gets pissed off in Dallas, he can come"

Oscar9992 wrote:Nikola Jokic: "I don’t want to leave Denver... If Luka gets pissed off in Dallas, he can come"

Read on Twitter

Only way he and Luka are gonna win a Championship together

skywalker33 wrote:

Oscar9992 wrote:Nikola Jokic: "I don’t want to leave Denver... If Luka gets pissed off in Dallas, he can come"

Read on Twitter

Only way he and Luka are gonna win a Championship together

I am not as crazy about the idea of Luka coming to Denver because of the potential cost. Have you been watching MPJ lately? We have been waiting for a while for him to arrive and now undoubtedly, the Mavs would want both MPJ and Murray in any trade for Luka.

Sorry but that's not to my taste. I would even have some concerns with giving up Murray alone who plays better defense and is capable of putting up Luka like numbers.

Minnesota loses to the Kings tonight, we're now only 1 game back of the #1 seed in the West, we're locked in and should be moving upward again.

OKC on a hard road trip, pulls one out on NOP thanks to poor shooing by CJ McCollum down the stretch, going down to End of the Season wire

Have to say I didn't expect the Thunder to lose BOTH B2B games against Philly and the C's, but it sure made my day when they did. We are obviously back in control of the #1 seed, the only two playoff teams left on the schedule are LAC and MINN, but SAS did give us a big scare so watch out there. Still need to get Murray back for full heath and playoff mode, give Joker a little rest and need to get out bench to solidify, that looks like our Achilles Heal right now.