The Denver Nuggets Might Actually Be the Title Favorite [Video Essay]
Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Denver Nuggets might actually be the NBA title favorite, and the reason goes deeper than most people realize. While most of the NBA world focuses on younger teams, better defenses, or flashier contenders, Denver will roll into the postseason with the most reliable playoff offense in basketball.
This HHT video essay breaks down why the Nuggets are uniquely built for the postseason: elite halfcourt scoring, low-variance offense, the best two-man game in the league, and a version of Jokic that may be fresher and more dangerous than ever.
What You’ll Learn:
🔹 Why the Denver Nuggets may have the most playoff-proof offense in the NBA
🔹 How Nikola Jokic creates the lowest-variance elite offense in basketball
🔹 Why Jokic’s wide open 3-point creation makes Denver less vulnerable to bad shooting stretches
🔹 The shocking math behind Jokic’s historic midrange efficiency
🔹 Why Jamal Murray’s best offensive season yet changes Denver’s championship ceiling
🔹 How Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson could make the Nuggets defense good enough for a real title run
🔹 Why Denver’s halfcourt dominance makes them more dangerous in the playoffs than most teams being discussed ahead of them
The Nuggets are not just a dangerous playoff team. They may be the team best built for what playoff basketball actually becomes: slower, tighter, more physical, and more dependent on halfcourt shot creation. And when the game gets ugly, no player in the world may be better equipped to solve it than Nikola Jokic.
#denvernuggets #nikolajokic #nuggets #jokic #denver #nuggetsnation #milehighbasketball #JokicHighlights #nikolajokić #jokić #DenverNuggetsHighlights #nba #nbavideoessay #ThinkingBasketball
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 – The Denver Nuggets are being slept on
1:30 – The Nuggets offense is variance proof
3:20 – Nikola Jokic is an offensive machine
5:30 – Jamal Murray is built for the NBA playoffs
7:04 – The Nuggets’ half court offense
8:41 – Jokic’s injury could have been a blessing
10:10 – Aaron Gordon makes the defense good enough
11:41 – Conclusion
12:30 – Thanks for watching, and please SUBSCRIBE!
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SOURCES:
NBA.com Stats: https://www.nba.com/stats
Dunks and Threes (EPM): https://dunksandthrees.com
Cleaning the Glass: https://cleaningtheglass.com
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36 Comments
Yo guys! The playoffs start in a week – who should be the REAL title favorite?
OKC, San Antonio, Boston, or Denver?
Did the video sway you at all?
1 Peter 5:7 ❤
Shooting numbers don’t even factor in the number of points that the nuggets get from a missed midrange shot that jokic immediately cleans up and puts back because he is so strong and good on the glass and with tips. So he will have a missed midrange shot with a put back that shows as 0-1 from midrange and 1-2 from the floor, but it was effectively a single made shot attempt, a standard 2 point successful possession.
No defense no chance
Murray plays like scared child. Nikola is alone
Beat da spurmz 4 tomez
Great breakdown. I'd only add that Braun is a solid defender, and their core has all been to the top of the mountain before and not all that long ago
Jokic and Jamal are the best duo BUT AG is the key player for winning the title
The problem is that OKC has cracked the code by having two centers on the court. And then they foul him to take the ball away with no call.
This is not a league secret. The league despises the Nuggets. There is under the table collusion to take away advantages. Look at last year, they've allowed ultra aggressive defense by the OKC; they allowed the OKC to basically man handle Jokic. The league will make sure Nuggets loose, and their golden boy SGA get another ring. I am talking as a fan here. If the league hates your team they will make sure the other team man handles you. Look at what they did with the Nets when they had KD and Kyrie, they allowed Boston to do whatever they want on defense.
3 months ago I predict Denver Cleveland final,still sticking to that..
We are coming with vengeance‼️ #NuggetsBasketball 🫡
Jabum worry is slow, unathletic, terrible on defense and injury prone! Jokić needs a better Robin/second option!!!!
Until defending champs are officially eliminated nobody is favored over them no matter who it is
Jafal blurry is the worst second option ever!!!! They have to get rid of him no matter what happens this season!
Great analysis. Another thing is that they have the ability and mental toughness to come from behind and also win in overtime.
Great vid, well written and structured. Thoroughly enjoyed it, you´ve earned a new subscriber
Excellent breakdown indeed. Agree with all u said 🎉
You need to take the refs into consideration, the way the playoff teams defend Jokic is to use small players to front him and stop his movement, prevent him from getting the ball in the elbow. Fouls are not called on the small players, this is just a fact now. You are most likely not going to be a true contender when the refs can decide the game for you.
If Murray turns into a playoff Murray after his best regular season i think, Denver will win it all.
Hey man, you gotta be quite and let my Nuggets fly under the radar.
H Town
I’m not so sure Jokic is the “most reliable offensive engine in the world” anymore. Feels like shai is now
You are certainly right that it will be much easier the Nuggets to play better defense in the post season then for a defensive team to play better offense.
nice video. sub
If nuggets can win the chip they might actually BUST the most dangerous team this Decade in the OKC thunder
As a huge nugget fan, I’m scared of OKC and the TWolves
no they arent defense is not good enough. bottom 1/3th defense just not championship quality
The Spurs have always been my team, but I've come to love Jokić and the Nuggets the last few years. They're so fun to watch. Rooting for both. Whoever wins, I win.
Something you didn't mention was so much of this season was hampered by injuries. I know that happens to every team, but the Nuggets really went through the ringer and still ended up (or may still end up) the #3 seed. That means their bench is still impactful and they can play with a lot of different combinations (even if it isn't as pretty as the starting five).
Good video. Reminded me a little of Thinking Basketball.
Last Home OKC gm against Nuggets went down to last Shot SGA cashed ..No AG ..Nuggets are Primed now and Healthy as they have been all Year OKC Spurs Nuggets Rockets all Hot going In Playoffs ..West is Best and Will Win Title over East
Great analysis. Don't underestimate the impact of a healthy Gordon.
One of the best breakdowns ive seen of this years team and the nuggets offense in general. Everyone runs some form of splits but Denver does it differently. And they might not shoot as many 3s but they are number one in 3p%. Truly the best offense in the game and historically the best offense ever!
Their star only takes what is given. He actually tried to get others involved more than he chooses to get his or dominate oile he could. And that just raises the floor for the team because everyone gets involved, stays warm and consistently gets opportunities to shoot or playmake.
Best two man game in the NBA. Historically the first two man game to EVER have 1500pts and 500 assists.
They finally have a bench, a backup big that doesn't fall off too much from Jok(backup centeris a weakness?!? Best Jok had ever had in his career!). And every piece fits and compliments eachothers skills and doesnt cause any problems where you have a bunch of guys that can only play one way or stars in one part of the game.
Truly an insane team. Jokic is the MVP and my 6th str8 MVP no matter what voters robbed him of in the 2 he didnt win but got 2nd.
Gordon is the defensive guy. Watson is the rim protector that just showed he is a star as well and not just a bench role player! Spencer Jones is the bulldog that can foul out if needed to play hounding defense.
This team was up 3-2 for game 6 last year vs OKC whe recovering from a ladt minute cosching and front office change and major injuries especially to Gordon who tried to play at a cost that hurt us this reg season. What do you think this Denver squad that is leaps and bounds better in the areas in needed to be including depth?
My money is on Denver if they stay healthy! Wont be a cake walk. But they should be able to win any series they get into in the post season. I like them at the 3 seed over the 4, but still got them if they fell into 6th or the play-in eventhough they cant this late.
Denver as a flyover city is just slept on even with the greatest player on the planet. They just dont get watched by the people that vote or media that analyze them. So much so they are just ho-hum over Jokićs statistics night invand night out!
Just give the MVP award to SGA. He's the Media's Valuable Player. He creates hype, drama, controversies. – things media loves.
Jokic, he's boring, too nice too legit… Just enjoy watching him play intelligent basketball and move on..
Well, Murray is a key however I’ve seen many times where Murray fades in the fourth quarter but he wants to take the last shot instead of giving it to Jo for some reason and that ends there run because he’s not elite at finishing games in my opinion, well I guess we’ll see this year but I’ve seen many times where he takes the last shot and misses
DENVERS NOT!!!!! A 1 MAN TEAM STOP REPEATING THAT LIE THEY HAVE JAMAL WHOS ALWAYS!!!! A BEAST AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL!!! JAMALS ALL NBA ALSO AG PEYTON CHRISTIAN NOT A 1 MAN TEAM SERIOUSLY STOP THAT BS NARRATIVE ITS FALSE
Lets not get ahead of ourselves. The Thunder are objectively pretty big favorites. I'm hoping they lose, but according to the books they're gargantuan favorites. Rarely is a team going into the playoffs as heavily favored as the Thunder this season.