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, once they obliterated each group of their path en path to the title. Throughout that postseason run, the Nuggets misplaced solely 4 video games, proving that they have 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 way in which the remainder of the standings and the Play-In Match shook out, the Nuggets actually didn’t draw the breeziest opponents accessible. 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 total brunt of Anthony Edwards’s popping out occasion as a real NBA celebrity. The T-Wolves had made loads of roster strikes to attempt to subject 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 proficient 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 celebrity duo of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Whereas a lot of the Colorado sports activities betting panorama nonetheless had religion within the Nuggets, the acquisition of KD put some concern 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 Ebook and KD’s offensive greatness was capable of steal the Suns two victories.
The Nuggets reward for toppling Phoenix was a second-round conflict in opposition to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the opposite Los Angeles Lakers. Any sequence in opposition to James, one of many two biggest gamers in league historical past, isn’t to be taken flippantly. The sequence 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 sort of indictment on James and the Lakers. In that sequence, 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 sequence.
Within the Finals, they ran right into a red-hot Miami Warmth group, 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 group 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 Recreation 7 to stop 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 frightened of future. They made fast work of an exhausted Warmth group, 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 report to start out the 2023-24 marketing campaign, the Nuggets have but to earn the respect of Vegas oddsmakers. Denver won’t 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 develop into an honest dark-horse decide for the title.
