The-Power wrote:Texas Chuck wrote:The-Power wrote:That's obvious hyperbole but it's undeniable that Denver needs to find something beyond Jokic-ball that works if they want to make a push. Some prospects will have to take the next step or Denver will need to find ways to add a bit more depth to the roster.
They have bled talent for sure. And they have a couple of max players with real question marks.
but we can't forget the series they lost was extremely close. And I don't think anyone believes Dallas cakewalks them had they advanced.
This collective narrative of their demise with the best player on the planet peaking is premature at absolute best.
I'm not saying their demise is inevitable – I still have them as contenders, though clearly not as favorites at this point – but an already shallow team lost one of their five best players without proper replacement and there are clearly question marks surrounding their secondary star. I don't think they can just sit back and assume they'll be a force again in the playoffs – they need to actively look to improve their roster.
Not much they can do to improve the roster--its got to be health of the core 4 and they need some unexpected contributions. But when you have Jokic, you are dangerous and I see them being dismissed too easily for my liking. Now I know part of that is the nature of the beast--everyone gets eager to move on to the next hot thing. Wolves were being crowned champions before they had even dispatched Denver here for instance. Too many people think the Spurs will arrive this season because they are all in on Wemby hype even though he's got a long way to go offensively still.
Jokic is likely to be the best player, and by some distance, but won't sniff MVP. Gobert will still have more defensive impact than Wemby but the only think keeping Wemby from the DPOY is not making the game threshold. How they actually play won't matter.
Now admittedly I have the opposite problem. I believe in the incumbent until proven otherwise. I didn't see OKC coming last year for instance. I would take Boston against the field this year. All the talk last year here how Giannis wasn't any good made me crazy. But I have to wake up to his health issues--they are becoming an annual issue.
I'm still more bullish on Denver as a West contender than others. I think OKC, Dallas, Denver will provide the conference champion and I'd be really suprised if anyone else snuck in(barring injuries to SGA/Luka.Jokic obviously).
