Denver Nuggets 2021/2022 Season Preview – The Two Sides of a Coin
Bad Men, Bad Takes – Season 1, Episode 25
The Denver Nuggets enter the 2021/2022 season in the most intriguing of positions.
On one side of the coin, Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s reigning MVP. A big with the skill-set of the most accomplished guards from yesteryear, Jokic is a nightmare for any opposition trying to curtail his influence on any given night.
His ability to score, rebound and facilitate make him peerless amongst big men throughout NBA history – a fact Ben sees the Nuggets as continuing to exploit in their upcoming campaign.
“It’s hard to demonstrate how good he truly is”, Ben said. “You just need to watch him rip defences to absolute shreds”.
“The craziest thing about him, though, is that he will do that while standing still. He will stand at the elbow and pick, and pop, and find angles nobody else can with his passing. He has an insane IQ”.
Will Jokic be able to back up his MVP season without running mate Jamal Murray? Credit: Sports Illustrated
Vegas has Jokic on the eigth line of MVP betting entering the season, which seems absurd for a player with his talent who is coming off the most coveted individual award in the sport. Nonetheless, part of that hesitancy by punters may be down to the other side of the same coin we mentioned earlier – the absence of his running mate, Jamal Murray.
Murray tore the ACL in his left knee in April and looms as having a potential return date around March, if things with his rehabilitation go well. When on the court last season, Murray was instrumental to the Nuggets success and his scoring punch was greatly missed in the post-season. Something Ben lamented given his projected absence for a large portion of the season.
“The Nuggets can’t rely on Murray putting up 40 every night”, he said. “Guys like Porter Jr, Monte Morris and Will Barton will need to step up and score consistently if the Nuggets are to deliver on their potential for this season”
Listen to the full show podcast to hear where the BMBT office believe the Nuggets will finish in the Western Conference, their thoughts on the Aaron Gordon extension, whether Michael Porter Jr (Povo Melo) can take another step, Jokic’s back-to-back MVP chances and more!
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