30 in 30: Can a healthy Denver Nuggets contend in the Western Conference?

This could be a telling year for the Denver Nuggets

Assuming the Denver Nuggets will be at full health to start the year, this will be a telling season for them. If the Nuggets can’t make the jump to the contention tier in the Western Conference this season, it will bring about some questions about this team’s core – perhaps similar to what we saw in Utah over the past couple of seasons.

That core had hit its ceiling and a decision needed to be made.

I’m not saying that Denver needs to make it to the conference finals or NBA Finals to keep this core intact, but they have to make some professional steps as a franchise to keep some momentum in this build.

The Nuggets’ core is still relatively young and has room to grow, but the clock may be ticking on this team. It’s time for them to take another step in the West. And this is the best opportunity for that to happen.