The defending champions Denver Nuggets will hope to return to the NBA Finals this season to maintain their crown as champions. Nikola Jokic was asked about the motivation the team has to repeat their title run from last year and the reigning Finals MVP kept it real with a hilarious response.
"We want to go to Las Vegas again to party. So that's why we want to win a championship again."
The Nuggets championship celebrations last season were incredible. The parade united the entire city as the Nuggets lifted their first-ever title. Iconic moments of Jokic drinking with his teammates and Aaron Gordon staggering through the city streets while drunk are still remembered to this day.
Denver will enjoy a home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs at the minimum. Their first-round matchup was decided tonight, as the Lakers clinched the No. 7 seed by beating the Pelicans in the 7-8 Play-In game.
The Nuggets have won the last seven games they've played against the Lakers, going 3-0 this season and 4-0 when they met in the Conference Finals last season.
The Nuggets Are Considered The Best Team In The West
Even though the Nuggets lost their No. 1 seed in the conference on tiebreakers because they lost three games to the OKC Thunder this season, they're still being viewed as the biggest threat in the West. Patrick Beverley recently explained why he would still pick Denver over OKC.
"See y'all in June. All right, no, y'all ain't going to make it. Too young. It's just tough to beat Denver, man. That's all. There's no discredit to any team. It's just tough to beat Denver, man."
Not only that, the Nuggets are being considered favorites due to their incredible home-court advantage as well.
"Well, a super lock. I mean a gorilla glue lock. I mean, you got the best player, he just wrapped up the MVP last night. Denver is 33-8 at home... I don't see anybody beating them at home in the playoffs. It's just tough to go into Denver, it's the altitude, you can't breathe up there. They're playing their best basketball as we speak."
With these factors in their favor, it's hard to see what teams could do to overcome them. The Lakers theoretically match up with Denver on paper with their frontcourt size and dynamic guards, but the way the Nuggets play somehow completely limits that.
Hopefully, Darvin Ham has some answers for Michael Malone this time around. LeBron James will get his numbers regardless, so the pressure on Anthony Davis to be impactful offensively while limiting Jokic's numbers will be crucial. Missing Jarred Vanderbilt for this series is painful, as a Vando-Davis frontcourt would have been a great tool to deploy against Jokic's scoring and playmaking prowess.
As for an early prediction, we have to stick with the reigning champions. They've shown that they have the Lakers' number while also having a better superstar, a better supporting cast, and a better coach.
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