The big question for the Denver Nuggets
I am not really sure if the Nuggets are better than last season. It is true that Gary Harris regressed considerably after signing a pricey extension a few years back, but he was instrumental in the Nuggets Bubble run last season. He was their point-of-attack defender against guards and hit several big shots throughout the playoffs. He had been there as long as the other main contributors and it really was sad to see him go.
The Nuggets may have replaced Grant but it came at the expense of their best guard defender. Gordon will be relied upon to defend some of them like Devin Booker or Donovan Mitchell. Even if he has moderate success against those, however, who will guard the Chris Pauls? The Mike Conleys? Murray is anything but a defender and their guards off the bench are even less than that.
At the same time, though (there he goes again, disagreeing with himself), the two LA teams do not have guards that can necessarily punish that. Yes, Dennis Schroder is a good slasher and will show some cracks in Denver’s defense, but he is not a good enough shooter to completely doom them. So it may not matter in the end.
And the Nuggets surrounding talent has grown up a little! MPJ is less of the x-factor he was last season and is someone that really will decide some playoff games by himself this time around. Will Barton missed the bubble last time, and he is a considerable part of their rotation.
So are they the title favorites? Contenders? I’m not really sure. Yes! A cop-out! Exactly what you tuned in for! Listen. I am never going to bet against LeBron or Kawhi in a playoff setting, even with the Clippers’ epic (and hilarious) collapse last season. But the Nuggets have shown more in the playoffs than anyone in the West beyond those two. So… yeah, I would put them ahead of the Jazz and the Suns. Fight me if you want to.