Anonymously polled NBA experts are Jokic and Nuggets believers
Sep 26, 2023, 12:21 PM | Updated: Sep 27, 2023, 3:19 pm
If NBA league scouts, coaches and executives polled by ESPN on Tuesday think the Denver Nuggets will get back to the Finals behind an MVP year from Nikola Jokic.
Entering last season, ESPN’s survey only had one vote for the Heat and Nuggets to win their conference—and neither was picked to win it all. This season, there’s a runaway expectation that the Nuggets and Boston Celtics will meet in the NBA Finals this season. The Celtics of course, were a Game 7 crazy series comeback away from making that matchup happen last season. Now with having the most surprising move spurring one of the better offseasons, each according to the poll, the Celtics are favorites to win it all. That trade was moving longtime guard Marcus Smart for All-Star big Kristaps Porziņgis.
“This is their window,” a West executive said of the Celtics in the story.
“They have the best player in the world, continuity and their young guys will keep getting better,” an East scout said of the Nuggets to ESPN. “I don’t see anyone beating them if healthy.”
Denver lost two of their playoff rotation players but drafted three interesting rookies in this year’s NBA Draft. Aside from the moves, the Nuggets ran through the postseason with a 16-4 record and return their entire starting five. Jokic centers with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. each a full season back now from major injuries while Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope round out the group.
Jokic nearly went three-straight as league MVP but is now the overwhelming favorite to follow up his Finals MVP with his third MVP after being snubbed by voters for Joel Embiid last year.
“Who else could win?” asked a Western Conference scout in the ESPN story.
Jokic and the Nuggets open up their season a little less than a month from now on Oct. 24, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers for ring night. The west foes from the playoffs a season ago will meet with LA retooling their team around the idea of beating the Nuggets after being swept.
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