The Denver Nuggets have had one of the most productive offseasons in the entire NBA to date, but are far from the rock to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs.
After losing to the final champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Denver Nuggets entered the offseason knowing two truths.
First of all, as long as they have Nicola Djokic on the roster, they are title contenders. Secondly, if you wanted to be considered a favorite, you had to strengthen your lineup and depth.
After adding Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, Cameron Johnson and Tim Hardaway Jr., it’s safe to say that Nuggets has built a real threat to Thunder.
Nikola Djokic is the best lightning foil in the league. He limits turnovers, preventing lightning from starting a fast break to push the pace, demanding that all five defenders be locked in completely. But behind the depth chart, there wasn’t much in the nugget.
Please enter Valanciunas. He makes an offer from Panathinaicos to the table that he is very seriously considering, but the success of the Nuggets relies on him to keep him.
“A lot of this depends on whether they can keep Valanciuna or replace him with another centre because I think Jokic just depends,” Adam Mares said.
“If you rely on them the same way, that will reduce your odds considerably. But if we assume Valanciuna is there, I’ll put them in the same layer as Oklahoma City.”
Thunder did not make much of a move to improve, except to reclaim Nicola’s topic from his injuries. As real-life champions, they didn’t have to do that, but the nuggets are now pinching their heels.
Rookie Thomas Solver may be able to slow down the joke, but the safer bet is that he is still one or two away from breaking the spin. The Nuggets were far from perfect last season, but their additions make them closer to lightning than ever before.
“They solved both of these weaknesses they had: lack of depth from the bench, lack of shooting, they solved both of these issues,” Marless continued. “
So I look at it and say absolutely. Denver, I think if they hold Valanciuna, I have them in one of my NBA candidates. ”
There’s not much Denver can do if the Nuggets fail to maintain Valanciuna and decides to end his NBA career in favour of the Greek league.
Thomas Bryant was able to return to Denver in free agency, and the Nuggets were able to target veteran Bismack Bijombo. However, neither of these players are as good as Valanciunas, and do not offer the same physicality that allows Jokic to shut down Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein while he is sitting.
The Thunder regains the topic, but Nuggets welcomes Daron Holmes II into the lineup after he missed out on the entire rookie season. He’s a little small, but like Valanciuna, he’s leaning towards physicality. But he’s raw and inexperienced and isn’t the type of player he wants to rely on at least yet.
If Valanciunas stays or leaves, many things are decided in the West, and Denver becomes openly desperate to keep him in town.