The Denver Nuggets have their eyes set on winning back-to-back titles as we approach the business end of the 2023-24 season. Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was asked who he believes would be the biggest threat to them in the Western Conference this time around, and the 31-year-old named three teams.
“I would say a healthy Phoenix,” Caldwell-Pope said. “A healthy Minnesota, because Minnesota’s already been tough, even last year… And there’s a lot of young teams. OKC is on the rise, too, man. Just like the first two teams above us and then a healthy Phoenix. I feel like they’d be our biggest threats.”
KCP said a “Healthy” Phoenix Suns is the biggest threat to them…😷 Denver vs Suns Rematch? Healthy this time pic.twitter.com/oKv2lSCfqD
— 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✰ (@Hatedzs) March 12, 2024
Caldwell-Pope first named the Phoenix Suns, who are sixth in the West with a 38-27 record. The Suns have underwhelmed so far, with injuries being the biggest reason for their struggles.
Bradley Beal has played just 36 games this season, Devin Booker has played 51, and Kevin Durant has played 56. When all three are on the court, you would give the Suns a puncher’s chance against anybody.
The two teams did, of course, meet in the Western Conference Semifinals last season. While the Suns lost in six games, they were the only team that did manage to beat the Nuggets more than once in a series in the 2023 postseason.
While a lot has changed in Phoenix since then, they have the firepower to cause anyone problems when healthy. At this point, though, it is hard to be optimistic about the injury bug staying away.
We next get to the Timberwolves, another team that the Nuggets beat in the playoffs last season. The two sides met in the first round and Denver won in five games. Minnesota is a much better team this time around, as evidenced by the fact they are third in the West with a 45-21 record.
Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, the injury bug has already struck, with Karl-Anthony Towns undergoing surgery for a meniscus tear earlier this week. Towns is expected to return during the early stages of the playoffs, but you wonder how effective he would be. If he can play close to his best, then the Timberwolves could cause problems.
Lastly, we get to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who sit atop the standings in the West with a 45-20 record. After missing the playoffs last season, the Thunder have made quite the leap, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a serious MVP candidate this season, with averages of 31.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He has helped the Thunder beat the Nuggets the last three times the teams have faced off and it’s not a surprise that Caldwell-Pope named OKC as one of the threats.
Do I think either of the three can beat a healthy Nuggets team in a series? Not really. Denver looked a little bit shaky at times in the first half of the season but has now won nine of its last 10 games to improve to 45-20. I expect them to finish atop the standings in the West and they are going to be even tougher to beat with home-court advantage.
Some notable teams Caldwell-Pope didn’t name are the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors. When you consider that Nikola Jokic is unbeaten in his last 11 games against LeBron James and Stephen Curry, it makes sense that he didn’t mention their teams.
The Nuggets had also won eight in a row against the Clippers, before LA finally got a win in their last meeting on Dec. 6, 2023. Those winning runs are another indicator of just how good this team is.
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