Mavericks going to the WCF proves Nuggets title window is wide open

The Denver Nuggets should be thinking championship in 2023.

It’s really not that outrageous of a concept.

And no, it’s not just because they have the best player in the world in back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic. The Western Conference is wide open next year and beyond. This year’s Dallas Mavericks are proof of that.

Raise your hand if you had the Mavs going to the Western Conference Finals? If your hand is up, you’re lying. No one predicted Dallas would go this far in these playoffs. Luka Doncic is a great player, maybe nearing Jokic’s level, but what he’s done to carry these Mavericks this far is absurdly impressive.

The second best player on the Mavs is who? Jalen Brunson? Spencer Dinwiddie? That’s no knock on either one, particularly the former CU star Dinwiddie, but neither guy screams “second best” on a potential championship team. That’s been reserved over the years for guys like Kobe and Shaq. Michael and Scottie. Even Tim and David in San Antonio.

Most people, myself included, didn’t think Dallas would even make it past Utah in round-one. Sure, the Jazz have criminally underachieved the past few seasons, but they have a much better roster on paper than the Mavericks. And Phoenix, are you kidding me? The 64-win Suns were supposed to take the whole thing, not lose to pesky little Dallas.

So, how does this all relate to the Nuggets? First, it’s proof one great player and a bunch of guys can take you very deep in the postseason. The Nuggets have that great player in the future Hall of Famer Jokic. But once they get healthy, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. due back next season, Denver’s core is leaps and bounds better than the Mavericks.

The window appears closed on 37-year-old Chris Paul winning a title in Phoenix. The Warriors dispatched the Nuggets in five this year, but Denver could have easily won Games 3, 4 and 5 and that was without Murray and Porter. Golden State will be a year older (and already looks old) — there’s no reason Denver can’t knock them out next season.

After that, does anyone in the Western Conference seem flat out scary? The Lakers are a mess, the Grizzlies still have another year or two of growing pains and Minnesota and New Orleans aren’t ready to take a championship leap. The Clippers could be a potential wild card, but the Nuggets already showed they can oust them in a playoff series.

The deep run by Dallas should actually be encouraging for Nuggets fans. It means the West is winnable, considering Doncic and a handful of role players are on the verge of doing just that. After what the Mavericks did in the first two rounds, it wouldn’t be shocking if they got the best of Warriors.

The excuses were valid for Denver in 2022, with injuries being chief among them, but they have to stop as soon as the regular season tips off in October. Michael Malone has to prove he’s a head coach capable of leading a championship team. Murray and Porter must show they were worth max deals and Aaron Gordon has to demonstrate his value given the contract the Nuggets gave him last offseason.

If guys like Monte Morris and Bones Hyland can be counted on as spark plugs off the bench, and DeMarcus Cousins can be re-signed to play 10-15 minutes a game, this team will have very few holes. There’s no reason they can’t win 55-60 regular season games and earn the No. 1 or 2 seed in the conference.

We’ll see how far Dallas can take this Cinderella run, but one thing is clear, if Doncic and that mediocre group can achieve so much, there’s no reason Jokic and the Nuggets can’t do the same next year.
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