After winning their 9th straight game, Denver are now the 3rd seed in the West at 51-28
Lakers have the tiebreaker so technically can get it back next game but against OKC I’d definitely expect them to go a game behind instead
Dude there are 3 good teams left in the west and we’re gonna have to beat all of them lmao.
1st round wolves, 2nd round spurs, WCF thunder.
this will be the dead opposite of our ‘23 championship run if it happens
The Lakers could still get the 3 seed as they have a much easier schedule remaining than the Nuggets however the Thunder might lose on purpose by resting their starters against the Nuggets if they clinch the 1 seed before that game
the lakers have no guards for the rest of the season. its over
Being forced to give Nick Smith Jr. and Kobe Bufkin minutes is not fun lol
Yeah I think the Lakers probably lose to the Warriors and Suns
The only game we might win is the last one against Utah and that’s only because they’ll bench their starters in the 4th after beating us for 3 quarters
Luka playing on crutches and standing in the corner for 20 mins lobbing threes so he qualifies for awards. I’d still back him to put up like 21
They won’t do that last game of the season, for fun
Will Hardy will have to bench his starters at halftime, and sub in himself and his kids, to lose that game.
Depends if the warriors and suns rest their starters. Both might probably be locked into their seedings by then
With Steph back absolutely and the suns have punked us all year, not easy wins agreed. Without Luka and AR they are probably back to 9/10th in terms of ability. So a play in team.
Yeah I’d be surprised if the Lakers didn’t lose all their remaining games.
Utah is in there and they will move mountains to lose that game. They’re like the little league teams in that episode of South Park.
If we beat the clippers our starting lineup is getting shutdown, we’re already resting jdub
I mean yall could still beat the Lakers as they stand without your starting lineup
Uhh surely the Thunder would want to beat the Lakers which would push them onto their side of the bracket.
Having to probably play Nuggets (WCSF) and Spurs (WCF) vs just one in the WCF is an easy choice
Lakers are first up for OKC. They have a B2B in LA, they win both and it’s the 1 seed.
Lakers lost luka, reaves, smart and have also no bench at all with all their backups becoming starters
They play suns [a playoffs team] and okc again
Denver likely play okc without shai/jalen/chet as okc will probably rest last week with 1st seed clenched
Clenched is an apt way to describe how I’ve felt the last few weeks
I feel like okc are more likely to rest their starters against Denver for mind games and strategy and play them against LA so they only need to play 20 minutes.
Dog we tanking now.
Have you seen our roster implode? Also Lebron not playing next game because old
The cool thing is that if we just win the back-to-back in Los Angeles, we can chalk up sitting our guys to pre-playoff rest instead of gaming the seeding 😆 but also, our backups are no joke. Could still be somewhat competitive against the Nuggets, though Jokić will get the win if he wants it.
Thunder need 2 wins or a Spurs loss and a win. If they win both legs of their B2B in LA they lock in the 1 seed.
i feel like they both will try to avoid the Wolves and try to be 4th seed
The Lakers are done. They might win the last game at home vs. the Jazz, if the Jazz try to tank hard enough. But I find it hard to imagine the Nuggets would lose the next 3 games.
Have you seen wolves play last 3 weeks? And they have health issues with their best player [edwards] and 3rd best [mcdaniels]
I was assuming Ant would be back, but damn I guess maybe not.
Maybe hr is back but comimg off injury into the playoffs is hard
HR always healthy when they need to determine your next severance package
Can’t count out any teams in the west
no you can definitely count out the lakers and twolves depending on how well they recover from injuries. walking licks sadly wihtout ant or luka/ar
Well I mean healthy teams in the west that is
I can think of at least 4 Western teams I’d count out from making the finals atp before I did the same for any of the top 8 in the East (outside of perhaps Toronto)
Curry is still curry when healthy. Kawhi is a giant slayer so can’t count out clippers. Lakers Wolves just a question if their stars make it back in time. All other teams can still take the west
There’s also another team The Nuggets just needed a 20 point comeback to beat
Don’t worry, the return of Damian will bring balance to the force. Ya’ll even have the Bucks paying for Dame time through 2030. Won that trade big time
The Rockets are not taking the West. They might get past the first round, since the Lakers will be so hobbled, but there’s no chance they beat OKC in round 2
I’m no KD fan but through the years I’ve seen him do some crazy things. He definitely got his eye on OKC to prove a point. Sengun is still pretty good. Wouldn’t count out the rockets
Everybody should be KD fan. He is spectecular.
Found one of the KD burners…
There are millons
honestly, denver should tank to 4/rest gordon as much as possible. I hope houston leaps both them and the lakers and hopefully denver gets an easy round 1 against the lakers. they’re going to have to beat both OKC & SA to get to the finals no matter what, who cares which order you play them.
They struggle with Minn & that’s going to be a lot of mileage put on the tires for no reason
Denver fought too hard in a game that should have been a loss to purposely fall to 4th.
Deliberately losing to influence seeding is bad karma. It angers the basketball gods.
In any event, I’m happier we won that. We’d have lost that game earlier in the year, bad spot for a letdown coming off a big win.
Every win counts and I can’t remember the last time we had a win streak this long. I don’t think Jokic has ever had a 10 win streak with us.
I know. I get why, they want to get a rhythm and momentum going into the playoffs. I just think an easier series and some rest is more valuable for their veteran group
You guys who keep discussing Minnesota either don’t keep up with the NBA or are living in the past.
Nuggets struggled with Minnesota that was probably 1 of the deepest teams in the league. Kat, Edwards, NAW, McDaniels, Gobert and Naz. This was easily Jokics toughest match up.
Since then wolves have lost Kat and NAW, and McDaniels is likely injured or extremely hobbled. If this nuggets team loses to this wolves team, I’ll be mind blown.
It’s not the loss, it’s just the wear and tear. Ant is a tough matchup for anyone and Rudy lurking around is a lot more challenging for Denver (imo) than anything Houston or LA can throw at them. I just want to see Denver healthy for an extended period of time and wish them the rest. If we can get a healthy Denver, SA & OKC the playoffs will be fun
The thing is, Rudy won’t be lurking around. He had the luxury of that when KAT (a really good jokic defender) was there and had the primary assignment. Reid is bbq chicken, so rudy or randle will be fixed onto jokic.
The Lakers might not win again until November
All of Lakers pre November win dreams rests in the slim hopes that Germany has a theoretical “super soldier serum”.
You guys actually have it pretty brutal either way. If you fall back to four, you just play rockets, Spurs, thunder, which is marginally easier at best. Could actually be harder depending on Timberwolves health.
2025 Wolves are like if Celtics Shaq was a team, you’ll be fine
Losing to the rockets
The cream rises to the top
Jaden and Ant are both banged up, you’ll handle the wolves this year
This would be like Dirk’s title run, stuff of legends.
The East only wins in these situations
Tbh though I can see the nuggets doing it. Would be a legendary run if they pull it off
yeah you won’t need to worry about OKC
Give OKC credit, I’m sure they can beat either the Lakers/Rockets in round 2
Fun fact the Jokic Nuggets have never won 10 straight games.
That’s a pretty amazing stat actually, but I guess they have always had a lot of inconsistencies during the regular season (but scary peaks in the postseason)
great, now you jinxed it
rockets/lakers gonna be the dumbest playoff series ever lmao
LeBron might legit punch Ime
I hope he punches him so hard ,Ime learns offense
Its gonna go to 7
No Chance if Luka and Reaves ain’t playing, that screams Rockets in 4 or 5
You underestimate the Rockets’ ability to troll against lottery-level teams
fuck sakes we already don’t have ant 😫😫😫😫 we out in the first
Don’t worry nuggets against wolves is a sign. Kryptonite. I preferred 4th seed
Thet wont have Edwards/Mcdaniels for the 1st round, and if they do they’ll either be playing hurt or extremely rusty
They’ll magically return healthy because it’s us.
Even still, id rather play them than the Rockets. In my eyes both teams are good and id rather play the team thats on a losing streak rather than the one thats putting it all together in the last games of the season
Fair take. Given our injury luck this season for the nuggets; I’d rather play OKC sooner rather than later however
Gobert 40-pt game.
is ant really not gonna play in the first round?
He’s probably going to play but he a lingering injury he won’t be anywhere near 100% and Jaden might not play at all
Wait what happened?? I love this match up despite always losing as a Denver fan. 😂
Were tied 1-1 playoff series, it’s a proper rivalry.
I will count that 2018 game 82 as a playoff game for my entire life and no one can stop me!!!
(It ended the drought)
Its the og playin game
Denver has won 3 times this season tbf.
Ant has runners knee, same thing that sidelined Steph for months.
Randle ball is screwing us over offensively and defensively. Ant and Jaden injured right now. Donte is in an extended shooting slump the second half of this season. We are having a rough time 😭😭. Of all the teams, I wouldn’t mind going out to Denver in the first
Ant’s gonna miss the first round?
Hope not tbh. Nugs vs wolves have always been bangers. I just hope my heart can take it
you overachieved 2 years in a row, time to pay back the karma
I was really hoping blazers would win. I prefer a playoff bracket where we don’t have to encounter Mr jokic and his squad
Nuggets Spurs would be so enjoyable to watch, though. No matter the winner.
Well I prefer a bracket where you do…. So there’s that lol
Yall need Jokic to get experience as a fan of both teams. 😂
I wanted blazers to win too and Nuggets stay 4th to play OKC as soon as possible
Can’t remember if the vibes were exactly the same but 23-24, I was happy we dodged both DEN and MIN because you lost to the damn Spurs only for OKC to end up getting eliminated by Luka.
Health is the biggest issue for nuggets. So many of us prefer to play OKC early. Also wolves are just somehow our kryptonite
Yeah I see the vision and you bank on the idea that Wemby can’t withstand 2 rounds though I think they destroy everyone on their bracket if you’re not there.
Well just because Jokic pulled some miracle somber shuffles on Wemby doesn’t mean we are banking on that being high percentage success against a 12 ft wingspan for a 7 game series lol. Jokic typically has the size advantage and it is much tougher on the alien.
Refs weren’t tho :(
Pleasure doing business with you Nuggets
JOkic and Gordon just dragging this team to the finish
Dragging? Did Jamal Murray just disappear? You’re not a nuggets fan lol
Murray’s numbers will go down in series against Spurs and OKC especially if refs allow more physical game. Jokic will still get his but for Nuggets to win they will need at least one more player to have monster games.
Don’t sleep on Murray putting up 30 a game when jok was out
I don’t envy any team who has to play them in the post season
I’d absolutely love a Spurs/Nuggets series. It’d be great basketball and just the type of test a young Spurs team needs if they advance there.
Looking likely in the second round now and would be an absolute war. I love playoff basketball.
I too would love a Nuggets Spurs series 🤣
Playing both the Nuggets and Spurs would literally kill me lmao
Nuggets will have to go through both Spurs and OKC to get to the finals. Assuming everyone healthy on all 3 teams I don’t think it is possible.
Yeah 1 of the 3 teams is going to have to go against two juggernauts if they want a ring and it’s going to be fucking miserable lmao 🤣
Literally love everything about it. The 3 teams in the west that have a chance against us will all have to play eachother in some way. Denver and Jokic will have to play the wolves. And whoever wins that has to play the spurs. Meanwhile we likely get the clippers and then the Rockets. Absolute best case scenario
it really has played out perfectly for okc lol
Yes, it seems that way. But the Rockets are tough and celebrating our side of the bracket is an invitation to Rockets in 6 happening.
2011 Mavs style run! To be honest this Denver team is pretty beautifully constructed, I wouldn’t count them out. If not OKC, Den would be my second choice to win it all.
If OKC doesn’t win I want the Hornets
Spurs look tough this year. Only thing is their lack of playoff experience
I mean they took you guys to 7 games last year and only got better. Nobody should be counting them out lol
True, and OKC also got better as well (thank you Daryl Morey, you da real MVP). I’m excited to play the Nuggets in a playoff setting again, ideally in the WCF if possible.
Lakers bottom 5 team right now.
Guys picking up luka/reaves minutes are fucking atrocious, atrocious players.
The swings on LAL are so crazy. They could beat OKC tonight and suddenly everyone will be like “you can’t count out the GOAT! Playoff Ayton is going to lead them to a chip!”
After that Grizzlies game I really thought this team was only winning a little more than half of their games left on the schedule.
Back to back where they flew across the country and landed at like 6am, don’t look too much into it.
God the blazers are so ass
yet they were 50 from 3 for what felt like the entire game, that shit had me going crazy
Man Toumani Camara was on that shit
[deleted]
We ass but the blazers asser
Excuse me but my team lost 2 possessions in the last 2:30 minutes to bullshit officiating while only leading by a possession. But I guess we’re just so ass taking a healthy nuggets team to the edge in Denver during and extremely meaningful game and losing in over time.
i wouldnt bring the refs into this.
And so it is …
Just like you said it would be …
Life goes easy on….OKC
All we need to do now is thrash the lakers again and playoff seeds (the important ones) are set
Clippers too. Sas tie breaker
keep them in 4th/5th please
I have them winning it all. Jokic is looking like the undisputed best once again.
jokic is not the problem though it’s the rest of the team sans AG that is the worry
like jokic had to ball out this hard for them to get by the blazers in OT? that bodes ill for their chances against OKC
Yeah, Jokic can do this sloppy, slovenian magic as much as he wants, but he needs his team to show out as well to actually win games.
Based
Thank you for not fucking it up against the Blazers of all teams, Nuggets
Lebron is questionable for tomorrow night so they’re definitely not winning that game even if all of the okc starters sit out lol Ajay Wallace J will caruso can carry them to a win.
You know what? I can’t be mad at it. We just have shit luck. Injuries stopped Bron from getting at least two rings total with the Lakers smfh. We could have ran it back and maybe snagged another one in the Luka era.
Denver been balling the fuck out they deserve it. Im rooting for the Spurs if the Lakers fall, but I love the joker and I can respect the rest of them lol.
At the end of the day, I just need Boston to lose. 😂😂🤷🏾♂️
Correct, LeBron will not win another ring
Damn, I really wanted OKC to meet Denver in the second round.
Just where we want them 🤣
MVP
Here b4 Gobert hits another fadeaway jumper in game 7
I gotta be honest, I respect trying to win no matter what, but Denver going all out to secure the 3-seed and get themselves the hardest possible path to the title seems silly.
Like, Jokic has played 86 minutes the last 2 games. Murray has played 84. They’re technically the 3-seed, but they won’t have that spot locked up until the final game (maybe 2 games) no matter how they do.
And the Wolves are almost guaranteed to be the 6-seed despite being probably the most dangerous of the teams 4-6. Then you get the Spurs in round 2. And if you win both of those, you get to face a Thunder squad that likely plowed through a super soft 4-5 winner and will be WAY fresher than Denver.
Denver is talented enough to win a title, but really don’t think they’re talented enough to win against THAT schedule if they’re playing their stars 40+ minutes a game to close the season out.
I guess they assume that Minnesota won’t be that difficult, that Ant won’t be back by the playoffs. Or if he is, that he won’t be in good form.
eh, all the reddit ball knowers think the nuggets last title was too soft. this will shut their little cock holsters.
No it won’t
I think yeah it’s not good to go all out for the 3 seed, but I think they’re trying to just get some chemistry. They haven’t had their starting 5 for most of the year so they need reps. There’s a reason why they were so bad in the clutch earlier in the year but have gotten way better lately. They also just needed to have some belief again. Games against the best teams went close, but none really went there way until the Spurs one.
Also how bad are the injuries for the Timberwolves? Is it likely both are gonna be available with most of their ability for the playoffs?
Nuggets read all the hater comments about their easy road to the title not beating any elite teams and decided on the gauntlet this year for style points.
Lakers could still win against the warriors tho and they could pull out a miracle win against OKC
Yeah and Jimmy Butler might be back for the playoffs
Nah denver is facing memphis, okc and spurs. OKC and spurs probably gonna bench their guys so gonna be a cakewalk for denver.
If okc beats lakers, then clippers, loses to nuggets, then the spurs could still put den into the 4 seed if the lakers beat the warriors. Assuming suns resting for last game which assume they will. 3 still def in play for lakers.
Nah bruh spurs not gonna play their guys on the last day of the season.
thunder secures the 1 seed with 2 wins. spurs will most certainly rest once the 1 seed is an impossibly.
The miracle might be bigger than having Luka and AR return for the playoffs lol
Is the 1st seed locked up? They could rest their starters for all we know
Ain’t happening that soon. Not til 1 is secured.
it’s not. 2 wins secures it.
Who’s happy about this? Scared pussy Thunder fans.
not a single thunder fan celebrating in this thread but we have a spurs fan upset yall won
As a thunder fan i am celebrating. Having the nuggets and spurs tire each other out is great for us
Go read the game thread you all are scared
why would we be scared when we are 3-0 against you guys this season and that defense is absolutely horrendous
Who fucking cares who is scared 🤣 the ring is the goal. No one cares how you get there. If we can have our two biggest competitors beat tf outta each other of course we’ll take it.
Brother, okc have won six of last seven games vs you lmao, sit down lol
Why you all scared then?
We are not “scared” we like a easier bracket like everyonr else lol, but because you are 3rd seed and have a tougher bracket regardless you spin it as a positive to denver lol
On your same logic, why are you so scared/annoyed of playing spurs in 2nd round?
I don’t care who we play I’d actually prefer the 4 seed and take you out round 2. I’m not scared like your fans.
Yes because you dont have any option lol, so saying you guys want the tougher path is a better spin
Dumb L Take 🤣 I would rather be scared than be a Round 2 Exit.
Yeah what happened last time we matched up? Holding that L still stings, doesn’t it?
Bro our hospitalized starters took you to 7 last year. Fully healthy this is going to be an even bigger war this year to 7 and shit is gonna be stressful as fuck lmao
“Last year” okay what about the 3 times we played you this year?
These nuggets fans are so wet over that 7 game series ignoring that every win OKC had was a total blowout and game 7 the thunder embarrassed the shit out of jokic and exposed him as a quitter
AG misses two shots and it’s a 5 game series 🤣
And despite those W’s you’re still this salty
Lmao do you know what salty means
Seasoning
0 chance yall are healthy if we meet in the WCF. Your big 3 are on life support as is.
Depends but yeah potential Spurs/Wolves matchups are just going to bang us up even more.
A scared pussy Rockets fan here, I am very happy about this.
We are not scared of Denver, I just want the team fresh for the wcf.
These responses are crazy. I absolutely don’t want the Nuggets in the 4 seed and will continue actively rooting for them to match up with the Spurs in the semis. Call me a scared pussy but few remember how tough or easy the road was to a championship.
This guy has balls to admit it kudos to you
That’s because you guys are a fanbase of cowards, comes with the cheering for other teams injuries and cheating Dort does
What a dick
What’s the Nuggets record vs OKC this year?
They’ve been ducking and praying all week lol
Can’t wait for AG to splash a 3 in their face at the buzzer to send them home.
Yeah you can’t wait for it because it’s not happening lmao
I’d be honored for the Spurs to play the Nuggets in the 2nd round for the right to send them back to their trailer parks. Defending champions scared to death of having to face real competition in the playoffs. “TTFU” lmao
Fun fact, there are more trailer parks in San Antonio than there are in OKC.
I’m a California guy who’d rather be sent to the Iranian front lines than live in either state but THAT is a fun fact TIL
Yeah likely culprit is tornadoes probably slowly running them extinct in central Oklahoma lmao