Are these Nuggets Golden?

The Denver Nuggets have been quite impressive under the bubble. The time off helped them in that Nikola Jokavic aka the Joker, was able to lose approximately 40 pounds and the slimmer Joker has being paying dividends for the Nuggets. Additionally, Paul Millsap was also given time to come back from minor knee injuries. Additionally Michael Porter Junior and Bol Bol also had time to heal from injuries. Porter Jr., has been playing out of his mind since entering the bubble. The rookie is averaging 26.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 3.7 blocks. Jamal Murray has also come back from injury and has played quite well in the bubble. The only critical players the Nuggets are missing are Will Barton who has a knee injury and Gary Harris who has a hip injury.

So far in the bubble, the Nuggets have defeated the Thunder, Spurs, and the Jazz. They lost in a thriller to the Lakers after Kyle Kuzma hit a clutch 3 to put the Lakers ahead with .4 left on the clock. The Nuggets have given it their all in all their games but weren’t at full strength. They will be at full strength going into the Playoffs and will be a dangerous team to face. Their starting five of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap, and Nikola Jokavic is a tough match up for any team in the NBA. When you add Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol into the mix, things seem to get a little unfair given when you realize how much talent this Nuggets team has.

The Nuggets are currently the 3rd seed in the Western Conference Playoffs and would play the Utah Jazz in their first round match up. The Jazz will be a formidable opponent but not one that the Nuggets can’t get past. But in the second round the Nuggets would have their hands full with the Clippers in what could potentially be a phenomenal series. We’ll know if these Nuggets are made of gold if they can get past the Clippers but until then we’ll sit back and enjoy Nuggets young rookies Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol.