DENVER — In February, rankings weren’t important to the Denver Nuggets.
Of course, things can and have changed for Denver over time. But coming into the All-Star break, the Nuggets wanted two things: They wanted to be healthy once the playoffs started, and they wanted to play at the highest level.
Fast forward to Wednesday night’s 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it all made sense. You could see the atmosphere of the sold out crowd at the Ball Arena. You saw Christian Braun diving over Rudy Gobert, changing hands in the air. You saw Nikola Jokić lock up his third league MVP with a 41-point masterpiece on national television.
WHAT A DUNK FROM CHRISTIAN BRAUN 🔨 pic.twitter.com/C8FyVllheg
– NBA TV (@NBATV) April 11, 2024
But we could also see the little things. You saw the synergy on defense. You saw the ability to play and execute offensively at the highest level. You saw a team that just looks ready for the upcoming playoffs.
Wednesday night served as the Nuggets’ crescendo, the 48-minute stretch where they finally took control of the Western Conference. But it was the preparation and behind-the-scenes process that led to some Hollywood-worthy moments. Truth be told, it was harder than it looked. The Nuggets had to survive multiple injuries to star guard Jamal Murray. They had to survive losing sixth man and last year’s dynamo, Bruce Brown. They had to incorporate new pieces into their rotation. They had to learn how to play with and against each other on both ends of the floor.
What Wednesday proved is that the Nuggets are closer to a finished product at the right time. It was one of the first times this season Denver hit a team with an eight-minute haymaker that couldn’t be countered. Ball Arena sounded like the night the Nuggets clinched a title against the Miami Heat. It was a night when almost everything took shape.
“I think we are on the right track,” Jokić said on Wednesday. “I think we are playing well. I like how everyone is locked in and focused, especially on the defensive end. I think we’ve gotten to the point where everyone knows where to go and everyone knows their job. We played very good defense tonight, especially in the important moments. I really like the way we play.
The bottom line is that the Nuggets will likely get the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, even though they’ve told everyone that the top seed isn’t their first priority. Quite literally, head coach Michael Malone and company were right when trying to hammer home the point in the first few weeks after the All-Star break. Playing well and being healthy come playoff time still serve as common barometers for a deep playoff run.
But what hasn’t been said is that if you do these two things over a period of time, then the seeding will probably take care of itself. Because if you play basketball well, you have a high chance of winning many games. In this case, that’s what happened for the Nuggets.
And let’s keep it real: The No. 1 seed meant, and still means, a lot to Denver. Yes, the Nuggets downplayed it for weeks, but moments before Wednesday’s game against Minnesota, Malone looked his players in the eyes and said the silent part out loud.
“The No. 1 seed is there for the taking,” Malone said, “but you have to go get it from a really good team.”
The fact that the Nuggets — including Jokić, who answered a question Tuesday from Athleticism by saying Wednesday’s game wasn’t important – I tried to downplay the importance of being on top of the West, bordering on amusing. Of course you want first place, if you can get it.
This season, there are some downsides to being at the top of the West. The Dallas Mavericks are the No. 5 seed, and they’re playing as well as almost anyone in the league since the All-Star break. This could very easily be a second round match. The Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers could be the No. 8 seed, or maybe even the Phoenix Suns. None of these three teams are a typical eighth seed. Do you really want to see someone like Stephen Curry or LeBron James and Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant in the first round? On paper, the most difficult side of the draw could very well be seeding, which is atypical.
Still, the Nuggets would get home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. Denver is 33-8 at Ball Arena this season, the second-best home record in the NBA. The Nuggets have one of the best home-court advantages in the league, and asking a team to beat Denver at altitude in the playoffs is a big ask. If the Nuggets were to somehow fall from the top seed, which would require losing to the San Antonio Spurs or Memphis Grizzlies, they could actually fall to the third seed. They don’t have a tiebreaker against the Timberwolves or Oklahoma City Thunder. This would lead to them having to win two series with no home-field advantage. No team wants that, regardless of the circumstances.
More importantly, the Nuggets are returning to the form they were able to find last season for long stretches. Malone said it after Wednesday’s win. The Nuggets have been an unsatisfied team all season. They clearly intend to try and repeat as champions, and they have been mentally strong enough to deal with the adversity that has come with it.
“We come to work every day and we don’t rest on what we’ve already accomplished,” Malone said. “We know there are 29 other teams trying to take what we have, so we had to stay hungry. We had to have the necessary energy and discipline, and tonight we had it.
“It was great to see our group, because I have a feeling we’re probably going to see this team again in the playoffs. For us to get better every day, we had to stay hungry and not satisfied.
(Photo: Christian Braun and Rudy Gobert: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)