It's time to take the Nuggets serious

As an NBA fan, who comes to your mind when you hear people talk about the best teams in the league? Warriors are of course at the top, the Lakers come to mind because they have the best player on their roster, the Raptors have possibly the best defender on their team. However, a new exciting, team is brewing in the Mile High City. A team that is young and hungry to prove their worth. More than a quarter of the way into the NBA season, things are starting to settle down a little bit with a few surprises no one saw coming. The Boston Celtics are just as close to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference as they are at the 1st seed. The Houston Rockets are not even in the top ten teams in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Clippers have a better record than the Lakers and Rockets. Yet, and possibly one of the biggest surprises in the league right now is who is the third best team in the West, the Denver Nuggets. Before the season started, many fans and experts had predicted the Nuggets as a team to clinch a seed no higher than the 7th spot. If you are Nuggets fan, you should be excited for this season. The culture has changed, the team has changed. Believe it or not, the defense has changed too. If you’re looking for a team to dethrone the Golden State Warriors, then look no further than the team playing in the Mile High City.

The Nuggets have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this year. They have one of the best defenses. Their offense is still one of the highest scoring squads. They have already beaten top tier teams like the Raptors, Celtics, Lakers, and the Warriors. The Nuggets have proven that they can compete and win against the best of the best. Yet they are still disrespected by the media and the fans. Fans are ready to count the Nuggets out of making far into the post season. They’ve said they can’t go seven games with any of the top Western teams. They don’t have a super star to get them to the next level. However, this new Nuggets team has a lot of great things going their way.

The Nuggets have one of the youngest rosters in the league. Paul Millsap is the oldest at 33 years old while the youngest is their 2018 first round draft pick Michael Porter Jr who is only 19. This squad is so young and will have many years to get to know one another, building team chemistry. Chemistry is something a lot of teams don’t have or they struggle with. The Nuggets excel in that area. After every team win, there is a different player of the night. They like to share the ball and spotlight. Jamal Murray dropped 48 points on the Celtics on a month ago. One night, it could be Jamal Murray in the spotlight, the next night it could be Nikola Jokic or Monte Morris. This team has shown it has made improvement on both sides of the ball. Some of the young players like Murray and Jokic have been playing together for a couple of years now and they are used as the foundation of making this team better with their leadership. Even some veteran guys like Isiah Thomas and Nick Young notice this squad and want in on the action. They see what is brewing in Denver and they want to be part of it. However, the Nuggets still aren’t being taken serious.

Since Coach Michael Malone took over the team in 2015, the Nuggets have increased their win total by a significant number because of their new coach. Even though they have not made the playoffs during the Malone era, the fact that the team continues to make some strides each season should wake the league up. Last year they won 46 games and just missed the playoffs by one game. This season their win total could jump up to any possible number above 50. According to a Nuggets reporter, the Nuggets lead the league in games that they have held their opponents under 100 points. They have done so 11 times out 27 games played. They had all of 14 last year. Another sign the defense has improved a lot over a few months.

Another scary fact about the Nuggets is that this team is having a lot of success now, but they don’t even have all of their best guys out there playing. Isiah Thomas will be a huge asset coming off the bench once he’s healthy. Will Barton who started the season in the starting 5 lineup and a key contributor to this team is out with an injury and could be coming back soon from his injury. Their first round draft pick Michael Porter Jr was looked at as a steal of the draft and if it was not for a back injury that caused him to miss most of his last year in college basketball, Porter could have been a top three pick. If Porter is ever able to play again, he could benefit the Nuggets and show the team and the league why he was the steal. The Nuggets aren’t even at full strength yet and once they do, they could be a nightmare for opponents.

Slowly and quietly the Denver Nuggets have been forming quite a scary team. Much like the Golden State Warriors, they get most their players from the draft. Management has made some gutsy draft picks and signings and it all could finally pay off for the Nuggets and their fans. The Nuggets could very well be a top tier team not only in the West but in the entire league. They have shown they can hang with the big dogs, now its time to show the league, the Nuggets are for real. They are coming and if you’re not ready, they’ll surprise you. As a Nuggets fan, I and many others, have been waiting a very long time for this franchise to do something. The time is coming. The time is now. Golden State, the Denver Nuggets are coming to dethrone you in the West. Basketball is about to be real fun in the Mile High City.