Not since Jamal Murray was dropping 50 points on the Utah Jazz back in the NBA’s bubble in 2020 have the Denver Nuggets entered the playoffs as healthy as they are now.
Murray missed the team’s last two trips to the postseason after tearing up his left knee on April 12, 2021, and back surgery kept Michael Porter Jr. out of last year’s playoffs, as well.
Without two-thirds of Denver’s star power on the bench, Nikola Jokic shouldered the Nuggets’ playoff fortunes in 2021 and ’22, and that burden proved too heavy even for a two-time NBA MVP.
He did lead the Nuggets past Portland in the opening round two years ago with a starting lineup that included Austin Rivers and Facundo Campazzo. But that was followed by a four-game loss to Phoenix in the second round and a first-round exit last year when Denver lost to the championship-bound Golden State Warriors.
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Those truncated playoff runs are a big source of doubt for national pundits and prognosticators who aren’t giving the Nuggets much of a chance to reach their first NBA Finals despite earning the top seed in the West for the first time.
Another reason is their underwhelming play since February as they won just nine of their final 20 games, slogging through the homestretch to finish with 53 wins, 11 fewer that the Suns won a year ago as the top seed in the Western Conference.
Some of that can be blamed on the Nuggets navigating unchartered waters after surging to the top of the conference standings well before Christmas and building a big lead over second-place Memphis heading into March.
Coach Michael Malone prioritized healthy minds and bodies over rhythm and records when he chose to rest some of his starters down the stretch.
Nikola Jokic, the center for the Denver Nuggets, brings the ball up court during the first half of a game against the Utah Jazz, on April 8, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Jokic missed five of the last seven games with a tight calf, a move that might have allowed Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid to overtake the 280-pound Serb in the tightly contested MVP race.
Jokic has never expressed a desire to win the Michael Jordan Trophy for a third consecutive time. Nor does he seem to care about the basketball buffs forecasting another early exit for his Nuggets, who will face the winner of the Thunder-Timberwolves play-in game in Round 1 beginning Sunday night at Ball Arena.
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“It’s not like we’re wishing for one team over the other,” Porter said. “We’ve just got to prepare ourselves and worry about ourselves.”
Denver was an NBA-best 34-7 at home and Jokic is counting on the homecourt advantage helping the Nuggets out in the playoffs.
Sure, he aspires “to be the best team on the planet,” Jokic said, but “I’m just thinking about the next game. I’m not thinking about the finish line.”
He’s just thankful he has Murray and Porter alongside him for these playoffs.
“Yes, then we can see: Are we capable of doing something when we are completely healthy?” Jokic said. “Every year we are missing one or two guys. So, hopefully this year we’re going to stay healthy.”
The Nuggets are still dealing with some aches and pains: Jokic’s calf, Murray’s thumb, Porter’s foot.
Murray said he’s still shy of that point where he’s not thinking about his sore right thumb: “It’s my shooting hand so it’s a little bothersome, but I’ll be fine.”
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“We’re just trying to get around little bumps and bruises,” said Jokic, who had his left wrist taped during an intense practice Thursday that was designed to simulate a game in the middle of their week’s rest.
“I’m just glad that we are healthy,” Jokic said, “That’s the most important thing, that we are going to go out there and compete and fight like every other team.”
With a full complement of players.
