The Denver Nuggets have seemed each bit as dominant within the early a part of the 2023-24 NBA season as they did throughout their Finals run in 2023, after they obliterated each workforce of their path en path to the title. Throughout that postseason run, the Nuggets misplaced solely 4 video games, proving that they had been a tier above the remainder of the sphere.
Denver didn’t precisely have a straightforward path to the championship both. Whereas their stellar play within the common season did clinch them the one seed and home-court benefit all through the postseason, the best way the remainder of the standings and the Play-In Match shook out, the Nuggets actually didn’t draw the breeziest opponents obtainable. Let’s have a look at how the Nuggets stack up in distinction to the general champion predictions.
Denver Nuggets dominant 2023 championship run
For the primary spherical, they drew the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves and endured the complete brunt of Anthony Edwards’s popping out get together as a real NBA famous person. The T-Wolves had made loads of roster strikes to attempt to area a greater roster round Edwards, together with including multiple-time Defensive Participant of the 12 months winner Rudy Gobert. Even with Gobert becoming a member of a gifted squad that includes Edwards, Karl-Anthony Cities, and Jaden McDaniels, Denver made fast work of the new-look Wolves, dispatching them in simply 5 video games.
Following their gentleman’s sweep of the Wolves, the Nuggets earned the privilege of enjoying the Phoenix Suns and their new famous person duo of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Whereas many of the Colorado sports activities betting panorama nonetheless had religion within the Nuggets, the acquisition of KD put some worry into native betting markets as future bets dwindled. Denver’s depth was the separating issue, as they raced previous Phoenix within the second spherical, however Guide and KD’s offensive greatness was capable of steal the Suns two victories.
The Nuggets reward for toppling Phoenix was a second-round conflict towards LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the opposite Los Angeles Lakers. Any collection towards James, one of many two biggest gamers in league historical past, isn’t to be taken flippantly. The collection led to a sweep in Denver’s favor, however the entire video games went right down to the wire. The sweep was a raging endorsement for Denver’s dominance, not any form of indictment on James and the Lakers. In that collection, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s two-man sport merely proved to be an excessive amount of for the veteran Lakers to attempt to comprise for a full collection.
Within the Finals, they ran right into a red-hot Miami Warmth workforce, led by Jimmy Butler in a Cinderella run that began within the Play-In Match and resulted in upsets over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, and the Boston Celtics. Miami appeared just like the workforce of future, not solely surprising followers world wide throughout their run, but additionally surviving a rousing comeback from the Celtics after going up 3-0, solely to win a Sport 7 to forestall the primary reverse sweep in NBA historical past and advance to the Finals.
Denver Nuggets 2024 NBA Championship odds
And but, Nikola Jokic and the remainder of the Denver Nuggets weren’t afraid of future. They made fast work of an exhausted Warmth workforce, knocking them off in simply 5 fast video games to seal their title run and are available house with the Larry O’Brien.
Regardless of their dominance all through that postseason run and their league-leading 6-1 document to start out the 2023-24 marketing campaign, the Nuggets have but to earn the respect of Vegas oddsmakers. Denver may not have made the splashiest additions of the offseason, however they need to be the favorites till confirmed in any other case. But, most sportsbooks have them behind each the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks for championship odds. BetMGM has them tied for third-best odds with the Phoenix Suns at +550. Who knew the defending champions would become a good dark-horse decide for the title.
