Despite falling to the Lakers in five, Nuggets Nation should be excited

While on paper, it will show the 2020 Western Conference Finals was just another quick series for the Lakers, the gentleman’s sweep won’t be indicative of the fight Denver put up against the best team in the Western Conference.

Despite a quick five points from Nikola Jokic in the first two minutes of Game 5, the energy from Denver on Saturday night never felt desperate or ultra-aggressive; it just seemed tired – at least when it came to the team’s two best players.

Entering Game 5, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic had played the most minutes in the playoffs, with Murray notching the most at 710 and Jokic right behind him with 664. For comparison, Anthony Davis and LeBron James were sitting at 11th and 13th, with only Davis breaking 500 minutes played for the L.A. duo. Following Saturday night’s loss, Murray would finish with 751 minutes played and Jokic with 695, as they wrapped their 19th playoff game of the season. The fight never left Denver, but the energy and stamina did. Can you blame them?

Now one can make the argument that the Nuggets put themselves in this position, so they have no one to blame but themselves and by all means, that argument would be correct. However, given that it is this group’s second run at the playoffs together, with their two best players sitting at ages 25 and 23, respectively, I think we can give them a pass for hitting some more growing pains.

Even though the Nuggets failed to reach the ultimate goal, the loss itself isn’t the most-frustrating part – at least for me it is not. Nor were the phantom foul calls Anthony Davis received, the empty offensive possessions from Paul Millsap, the head-scratching defensive blunders from Mason Plumlee, or the inexperience of Michael Porter Jr. The most-frustrating part about falling short in these playoffs is that we all saw what this team has the potential to be and that is a team that could not only be special, but achieve something special.

I can’t help but think back to last November and December, watching this team look out of sync, even though their record was similar to last season. Furthermore, if you would have told me at that point that the team I was watching would accomplish what they did in the bubble, I would have never believed it. From the moment the Portland series ended last playoffs, it was red flag after red flag.

After two intense seven-game playoff series, Jokic would forgo any sort of rest in the offseason as he went on to play for his country Serbia, in the FIBA World Cup. He would then report back to the Nuggets extremely out of shape, after signing a max deal. Head coach Michael Malone, in his first sit down with the media prior to the season starting, said he was concerned his team would come back complacent, as if they had already accomplished something.

This would all transfer onto the court during the regular season, as Jokic had a lengthy period in which he looked disengaged and sluggish. Somehow, the Nuggets were able to pull it together, but just when we thought things were getting on track, the injury bug ran through the team to the point where Denver miraculously won a game in Utah back in February with only seven players available to play.

Following the postponement, injuries would continue to plague the Nuggets along with a much more serious foe, COVID-19. When Denver arrived to the bubble, the majority of their backcourt was unavailable to play, forcing Denver to play most of its bigs. Denver would go on to struggle in the seeding games, going 3-5 and again looking out of sync as the playoffs were set to begin. The struggles would carry over into the playoffs versus Utah, as they found themselves on the verge of a disappointing first-round exit.

At that point, it was open season on the Nuggets. Media and fans alike questioned the team’s two best players, the head coach and the mental toughness of this team, and rightfully so. And just when we thought we had this team figured out, they shocked us all. They overcame the injuries to key starters, made history not only once, but twice as they came back from multiple 3-1 deficits, with one of those being against who many (like myself) thought was the favorite to win it all, in the Clippers.

All that leads us back to this series and in particular, Saturday night. Before the series versus the Lakers began, I had felt L.A. would win in five with the Nuggets getting kicked in the face in one game and then the next four games would be a dog-fight. In a nutshell, that’s how the series went.

However, what I didn’t account for in my prediction was there being a real chance that Denver should have been tied 2-2 or even up 3-1, had it not been for a buzzer-beating three on a defensive breakdown and another game in which the officiating proved to be the ultimate dagger in a night full of struggles, that Denver almost overcame.

Now, I’m not big on moral victories, but I believe this is one of those instances that a win can still be found in defeat, as was the case with the end of the 2017-18 season versus Minnesota and last year’s postseason. In the play-in game versus the Timberwolves two seasons ago, Denver had to learn how to win a game with a playoff-type of intensity and atmosphere. In last year’s postseason, they learned how to win in the playoffs. What will this season’s lesson be? I’m confident one of those things will be learning how to avoid 3-1 deficits.

It’s okay to feel disappointed and heartbroken. It is possible this was Denver’s best shot because nothing is guaranteed in sports, no matter how bright of a future your team has on paper. The quest for a title next year will only get more difficult for the Nuggets as the West will be even stronger with the return of the Warriors. In addition, the Nuggets now have the attention of the rest of the basketball community. The days of Denver sneaking up on teams and being a cute story to the national media are over. There will now be real expectations. We wanted their attention, now we have it.

Yet even with all those obstacles beginning to take shape, there is one thing I know for sure – this team won’t be scared of any of it. I’m going to miss watching Jokic make the impossible pass and Sombor Shuffling over some other all-star he has no business scoring on. I’ll miss watching MPJ hoist a contested three from the wing, with only the slimmest margin of airspace between him and his defender. I’ll miss watching Gary Harris make a play that won’t show up on the box-score, Jerami Grant locking up the opposition’s best player and Malone’s moments of extreme frustration, but also his moments of absolute adoration for his youngins. I’m going to miss watching Murray, the heart and soul of this team, will his team to a victory with tough shot after tough shot.

In a year that has been filled with adversity of every kind, this team showed us how to fight and unite, no matter what the odds say and no matter how big the obstacle in front of us is. That alone should bring a smile to all of Nuggets Nation.