Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports Denver is the standard. That much is clear. So, the Denver Nuggets are pretty good at this whole basketball thing. Seriously, that team could win back-to-back titles, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise—perhaps we should expect it, even with how well Boston has played in the East. When you pair the defending champion against a struggling young team, a disaster like Friday’s first quarter is what you can expect. As they have in many recent outings, the San Antonio Spurs showed grit. They didn’t allow a deficit to dictate energy, which sparked a rally that left Denver with work to do in the fourth quarter. But again, the defending champs play at an extremely high level and have a switch they can turn on that no team in the league has shown it can match. Oh, and the game was in Austin. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone didn’t see the point in playing in the land where Longhorns roam rather than San Antonio. That isn’t important, but seeing how other coaches feel about what an organization is doing is interesting. Like Gregg Popovich, Malone isn’t one to mince words. Observations: - Not to start a never-ending love fest for the Denver Nuggets, but man, that is an impressive team. Even when San Antonio rallied, it never felt like Denver had lost control of the game. The Nuggets have a roster of m selfless scorers. So, if there were any team you’d want the modern Spurs to become, it’s Denver, who has reinvented “Spurs basketball” in a sense. Denver had 37 assists last night and shot 55% from the field. Good luck beating that.
- How do you become “the next” Denver? Well, like all championship runs, it takes a bit of luck. Considering Nikola Jokic is as good as he is, I won’t say the Nuggets lucked into drafting him, that’s just excellent scouting and a best-case scenario coming to fruition. They didn’t luck into Jamal Murray; he’s a Kentucky guard, which tells you what you need to know. The luck was drafting Michael Porter Jr., who may have pushed for No. 1 pick status had he not injured his back upon arriving at Mizzou for his freshman season.
- The Spurs have already been fortunate with luck, considering the NBA Draft Lottery takes a ton of it (it’s in the name). There is much more certainty around Wembanyama than Jokic if you compare them as rookies. While they have completely different playstyles, they have similar strengths, particularly the ability to run an offense despite being the largest player in the lineup. Step two is finding that second scoring option that can also dish out assists. Do you let Devin Vassell grow into that role? Go get Trae Young? Follow Denver’s template and draft Kentucky’s latest high-potential guard, Rob Dillingham?
- San Antonio has only won 14 games; we all know that. But does this team have a significant leap if the core progresses this offseason? Things could look different if Wembanyama takes another leap and consistent role players are brought in to compliment him. Even if the Spurs aren’t competing for a play-in spot next season, it feels like an attainable goal two years from now.
- Organic growth is the key to fluidity on the hardwood, and Denver gave a figurative keynote speech on the topic in Austin at the Moody Center.
Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/3/ ... -to-denver