The Nuggets began the season with eyes on the Thunder. They should have been on Victor.
Victor Wembanyama is no longer the future. The San Antonio Spurs center is the present. And he is not going anywhere.
This is getting ridiculous. It is getting old.
The top superstars keep getting younger. And the Nuggets keep getting injured.
They began play in October with the best chance to knock off Oklahoma City. They moved on from Michael Porter Jr., and conducted a mini reno on their roster.
Yet after Denver crumbled in a 115-114 loss to the Clippers on Thursday night, their championship hopes are on the ropes. With 26 games remaining, there is no reason to believe they will usurp OKC for the No. 1 seed or the Spurs for the second spot.
The Nuggets are knee-deep in their golden era. They have qualified for the playoffs seven consecutive seasons, advancing past the second round six times, and winning the franchise’s lone championship in 2023.
No one will ever forget that season. But we can’t live in that screenshot forever.
We did not expect a dynasty. But a single chapter in history?
That is not enough. Not with Nikola Jokic in his prime.
“I hope the Nuggets do get another one,” former Nuggets coach George Karl said Wednesday night at the screening of “Soul Power,” a project he brought to life to bring attention to the ABA. “It is a total failure if they don’t.”
Extreme? Maybe.
But not as much as you might think with Jokic turning 31 on Thursday. No player has won MVP at age 30 or older since Steve Nash in 2006. Jokic will have a case, but his 16 games missed will make it difficult to overcome. As will Wembanyama.
In our haste to let Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keep the trophy, we failed to remember that objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. The Spurs sit 2.5 games back from the Thunder.
Would anyone be surprised if they overtake OKC? They are 4-1 against them, a record traced to their 7-foot-5-inch wunderkind.
Wembanyama is going to win Defensive Player of the Year. The only question is whether he will add MVP honors.
Which brings us back to the Nuggets. And their new reality.
How many more hamstrings can they pull? How many more knees can they bruise? How many more times can they fade in the clutch?
They have won 35 of their first 56 games and posted a 10-6 mark without Jokic. It has led to the knee-jerk response that they can claim a title if they ever heal.
Are we sure about that?
They have issues, ranking first in offensive efficiency in wins, but last in defensive efficiency in defeats. They must get more offensive rebounds and turn over opponents at a higher rate.
They don’t look like champions without Aaron Gordon. We get it.
The uncomfortable truth is that we don’t know when Gordon will return — he resumed practicing this week — and how he will perform when he does. Or for how long.
Denver is not going to improve significantly on defense without Gordon and Peyton Watson.
Thus, the injury excuse is on a platter. Eat it up.
It was much easier to stomach when the indigestion was only caused by the Thunder. That is no longer the case. The Spurs are a legitimate title threat. Whether this is LeBron James’ last season or not, Wembanyama is the new face of the league.
He plays chess in Central Park. And reads books in between starts.
He is averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. He is shooting 36.3% from 3. He has Steph Curry’s range in Ralph Sampson’s body.
He singlehandedly made the All-Star Game competitive.
We consider Jokic a unicorn. You know what Jokic calls Wembanyama? An alien. When Jokic had the 22-year-old — yes, 22 — autograph a jersey last week, he insisted Wemby draw a bug-eyed head under his signature.
Still wonder why championships could become foreign to the Nuggets?
How many more times can they come up short before we look at them and see the Milwaukee Bucks?
The good news is that Jokic avoids drama, unlike Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose name surfaces at every trade deadline and who, now more than ever, seems open to leaving as a free agent.
Nobody wants this for the Nuggets. But we have to stop telling ourselves everything is OK. Jokic deserves better.
Look at how the last minute unfolded against the Clippers.
Tim Hardaway Jr. committed an unnecessary foul with 24 seconds remaining and 19 seconds on the shot clock. Cam Johnson and Jokic had a communication breakdown moments later as Brook Lopez caught a full court inbounds pass for a layup. And in Jamal Murray vs. The Wall, the Wall of fans won. The All-Star failed to convert three free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining after coach David Adelman’s substitutions following the second make iced him.
It was a tease. Much like the last two seasons as a contender unable to escape the second round. The Nuggets remodeled their bench, but did not realize they needed to add an en suite to the trainer’s room.
Some of that is awful luck. But nobody cares when a team’s best players get hurt.
With the league’s toughest second-half schedule, the race is on for the Nuggets. To get well. To get better. To finish late.
They face the Thunder and Spurs three times apiece over the next seven weeks, including four on the road. These games will not only determine seeding, but whether we should we continue believing.
The Nuggets, when healthy, have a chance to raise another banner.
It’s time they act like it. Because soon, very soon, only to Victor will go the spoils.
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The post Renck: Nuggets’ roadblocks to another NBA championship include Thunder and an alien appeared first on Denver Post
