Leaders of the Western Conference almost throughout the season, the Nuggets are guaranteed to have the advantage of the field until the final of the conference. In other words, the teammates of Nikola Jokic will start the playoffs as the number 1 seed, and they take advantage of the Grizzlies’ loss tonight against the Pelicans to lock in this first place in the Western Conference. We cannot write that they are champions of the Western conference since the trophy is given to the winner of the conference final, and therefore to the future finalist.
Anyway, it’s an event for the franchise since it’s the first time the Nuggets have finished in 1st place in the Western Conference. A success that punctuates an almost constant progression since 2019, the team has settled among the tenors of its conference. In 2019, Mike Malone’s players are the Warriors’ dolphins. In 2020, in a season ended in the “bubble”, they finished 3rd in their conference before creating the feat by winning two series of playoffs after being led 3-1! In 2021, they are again 3rd, behind the Jazz and the Suns.
At the bottom of the wave at the worst time
In 2022, without Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr, the team manages to snatch 6th place. And so, this year, as a whole, the team has dominated the Western Conference head and shoulders with a provisional record of 52 wins for 27 losses. At best, Denver will finish with 55 wins, and the 2013 record of George Karl’s team will not be beaten: 57 wins for 25 losses. Which is not a good memory for the franchise since it was knocked out by the Warriors in the first round. An issue that hangs in the face of his players if we are to believe Mike Malone: ” If we play like that, we will be eliminated in the first round.
At the bottom of the wave at the moment with three defeats in four games, the Nuggets already know that they will play against the second team to come out of the “play-in”, and for the moment, it is still the biggest unknown.
