This will be felt especially acutely should Denver actually claim the No. Again, ask the Blazers how all that goes. Top-3 seeds that lose in the first round draw special scorn, no matter their regular-season record. This become more complicated because the Nuggets will likely be a top-3 seed. On that sequence, are we at the “make the playoffs” stage of the expectations game, or the “win a playoff series” stage? The Nuggets’ wins progression since 2014-15 reads like this: 30 wins, 33 wins, 40 wins, 46 wins, and 50-something wins this season. Viewed from that prism, simply getting into the playoffs this season might not quite be enough. They had the 11th-best point differential in the league and only missed out because they played in the West. The Nuggets didn’t technically make the playoffs last season, but they might as well have. To fall short would mean facing calls for a big trade or a coaching switch. This is relevant because in the traditional expectations ladder for rising NBA teams, a franchise that simply made the postseason in one year would be expected to win a playoff series the following year. Is actually getting in an accomplishment through that prism? Does the 2017-18 heartbreak of being one game short lower the threshold for success in 2018-19? These question loom over their past, present, and future.įor starters: is this season already a success as long as Denver does make the playoffs? The Nuggets were good enough for the postseason last year with 46 wins, but the West was too deep. PRADA’S PICTURES: Nikola Jokic conducts Denver’s beautiful symphony (2017 video).SOHI: Nobody else can play like Nikola Jokic (from 2017).MARES: Every pass in Nikola Jokic’s bag of tricks.FIALA: Nikola Jokic belongs in the MVP conversation.FLANNERY: Nikola Jokic has arrived and is on schedule.MATT MOORE: We’re running out of reasons to doubt Jokic.PRADA: Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s throwback to the future.How do you set reasonable expectations when a team leaps from outside the playoffs to the top of a really good conference in one year without a singular talent upgrade? How do the Nuggets measure success or failure now? Executives constantly play the expectations game and then watch their careers dangle at the mercy of whether those manufactured expectations were met. Teams that fall short of expectations are dismantled teams that exceed them are reinforced. Coaches get new contracts over expectations. It’s the kind of rise that totally scrambles expectations and reasonable judgment.Įxpectations are completely theoretical, yet incredibly essential in sports. That’d put them on pace to go 57-25, tied for the team’s best mark since the ABA merger in the 70s.įor a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in six seasons and hasn’t won a playoff series in a decade, this is a meteoric rise up the ladder. We’re reached the official midpoint of the NBA regular season, and the Denver Nuggets are in first place in the Western Conference with a 29-13 record.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |