Our interest in the NBA playoffs waned as we got deeper into the process and it became increasingly obvious that no one could seriously challenge the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA, and it's easy to forget how dominant a good center can be -- even with modern strategies and rules. Shaquille O'Neal won four NBA titles, and Tim Duncan won five, and that is no fluke. This year belonged to Jokic, and after waiting for so many decades, Nuggets fans actually had a very easy time of it:
Denver 4, Minnesota 1
Denver 4, Phoenix 2
Denver 4, L.A. Lakers 0
Denver 4, Miami 1
That's a record of 16-4 against the best the NBA had to offer. That is dominance. And a review of the individual series would reveal even more dominance, because Denver had a lot of double-digit wins. For example, look at the scores from the final (home teams listed first):
06/01: Denver 104 - 93 Miami
06/04: Denver 108 - 111 Miami
06/07: Miami 94 - 109 Denver
06/09: Miami 95 - 108 Denver
06/12: Denver 94 - 89 Miami
Think about it like this. How often could the best team in the SEC go on the road and beat the second best team in back-to-back games by 15 and 13 points? Not very often. But that's what Denver did in Games Three and Four of this series. With all the money on the line, and the championship at stake, Miami couldn't really be competitive on its home floor.
So congratulations to the Nuggets, the new kings of the NBA. If Jokic stays healthy, they could be up there for a while.
College baseball is now the last title left in the 2022-23 season.
ReplyDeleteThe Nuggets could be up there for a while, but it also feels like they could be a Rick Barry Warriors, Bill Walton Blazers or Kawhi Leonard Raptors flash. Whatever, I will be rooting for my Somebody Wizards.
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