The Denver Nuggets are the Real Deal
We are now 10 games into the season which is when most ridiculous takes come about. The Kings are 6-4 and suddenly everybody is saying they’re back. The Celtics are 6-4 and everybody is hopping off the bandwagon. In reality, the Kings wins have come against garbage teams such as the Hawks, Magic, and Wizards. Outside of the rough loss to the Magic, the Celtics have lost to the Raptors, Pacers, and Nuggets. All teams who will be in the playoffs. The one team that is off to a sexy start and it’s not an overreaction to say they are gonna keep it up, is the Denver Nuggets. Denver is off to a 9-1 start and they mean business. They haven’t just beaten lousy teams to make their record look better than they actually are, they’ve beaten juggernauts.
Nuggets defeat Warriors 100-98
This victory alone should validate the Nuggets as legit contenders in the Western Conference. The way it was done is really what makes the win special. Late in the game the score got tremendously close, but the Nuggets defense was able to hold on long enough to keep Golden State from getting any lead. Late game execution is the most vital part of any team’s success and the Nuggets exceed when it comes to that. Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic led the offensive charge in that game with Harris dropping 28 points and Jokic dropping 23 with 11 boards. Jokic will need to be on his A-Game in the playoffs if Denver faces off with the Warriors considering Demarcus Cousins will more than likely be back. To boot, the Warriors only loss of this season was so this young and talented Denver Nuggets team.
Nuggets defeat Celtics 115-107
The defeat of the Boston Celtics was very impressive considering after the first quarter Denver trailed 34-19. This win was led by Jamal Murray scoring a career high 48 points throughout the game. He continuously drove through the defense and made acrobatic layups at the rim. Also, he was 5-11 from three making him nearly impossible to guard all night. The Celtics are the statistical best defense in the league which means dropping 115 on them is in no way an easy task. The Celtics are favorites coming out of the Eastern Conference, so the Nuggets should feel proud with that win. The Warriors are thought as the team that will face off with the Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Nuggets beat both of them and should walk around with a swagger as a result.
The Nuggets are Young and Improving
Before the season, I wrote an article saying that the Denver Nuggets would be the surprise team of this NBA season. I’m happy that they’ve made that theory come true and are killing it. They aren’t doing this completely randomly however. The roster is young and plays a whole bunch of defense. The leader on the court is Nikola Jokic who is averaging 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. Those numbers don’t particularly stand out because this team plays very much like a team. The ball gets around to everyone and the best shot is the one that gets taken. Jamal Murray just had a stand out game where he was able to drop 48 points on the leagues best defense. Gary Harris is a scoring machine in his own right and Paul Millsap holds down the fort. When this team gets Isaiah Thomas and Michael Porter JR. back, they will get even deeper and even more difficult to defeat. The Denver Nuggets are not playing around.
-Brandon Black (Follow @bhblack02)
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