Is it safe to cheer for the Nuggets to make the NBA playoffs? Let’s do the math.
In a Western Conference that’s weak at the bottom, the Nuggets have a real shot at nailing down the eighth and final playoff berth, even if they finish with a below-.500 record.
And what would be the Nuggets’ reward? In all likelihood, a first-round date with mighty Golden State, where Denver would have no better than a 50-1 shot of knocking off Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the mighty Warriors.
But what’s the alternative? The Nuggets could miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and go back to the NBA draft lottery, where they might have a 100-1 shot of landing the first overall pick.
So I left the choice to Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly: Playoffs or the lottery?
“Our goal is the playoffs,” said Connelly, whose team held the eighth seed heading into a Saturday night game against the Los Angeles Clippers. “Our only goal isn’t the eighth seed, by any stretch. But I think winning helps in the growth of young players. Winning helps develop winning habits. Winning helps entrench the culture we’re looking to establish.”
OK, I’m sold. Nothing less than making the playoffs should be considered a success for Denver. Maybe center Nikola Jokic and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay would be nothing more than a warm-up act for Golden State. But what would the Nuggets have to lose? It might even give Denver a reason to care about basketball again.
Yes, we all know this is Broncos Country. Can’t speak for you, but I’m tired of wallowing in orange tears. If you can’t stop arguing the merits of quarterback Trevor Siemian against Paxton Lynch long enough to sit back and enjoy the rise of the next superstar in Denver, then you’re missing out on Jokic. And that’s a shame.
On an August night in Brazil, legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski watched Jokic score 25 points for Serbia during a 94-91 loss to Team USA, then interrupted his postgame news conference to ask me a question. “Does he play that well for Denver every night?” said Krzyzewski, marveling at the uncommon maturity in Jokic’s skill set.
Well, to be perfectly honest, Coach K: Jokic is not a superstar on par with Durant every night. But, of late, Jokic has done a pretty convincing imitation.
During an eight-game stretch that began with the first tick of the game clock in 2017, Jokic averaged 24.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 61.6 percent from the field. Is that any good? In January, Durant has averaged 28.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 57.8 percent from the field.
Even our old friend, furious George Karl — who might tell you Kenyon Martin was unreachable and Carmelo Anthony acted like a diva and it’s a crime against basketball that J.R. Smith owns an NBA championship ring — would have to admit Jokic plays the game the right way. The Nuggets’ offense runs through Jokic.
“Nikola Jokic, as a playmaking 5, has made our whole team more unselfish,” Connelly said. “The game slows down when the ball’s in his hands. He has an unbelievably high basketball IQ. And he plays to win.”
Jokic has all-star written all over him. But I freely admit the comparison to Durant is not fair, and maybe not even particularly apt. In truth, Jokic plays the game more like Bill Walton, who won two championships at UCLA and two more in the NBA.
At nearly every commercial break during their games on television, the Nuggets broadcast a message of hope to a city that had either given up on them or just plain forgotten about them. From the mouth of Alex English, whose voice is as silky as his jumper and can make every word sound like poetry, we are told: “This is Mile-High Basketball.”
We know the geography. We want to see a playoff team. So is a new slogan from the Nuggets too much to ask?
This is No-Excuses Basketball.
A playoff berth is there for the taking in the Western Conference. Go get it, Nuggets. The time to win is now.
