The Denver Nuggets continued to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season but there is still plenty of work left to do. They will look to turn that into legitimate playoff success by going on a deeper run in Orlando than they did last year.
It’s important to remember just how close the Nuggets came to advancing to the Western Conference Finals last season. Denver ended up losing Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers by a total of just four points, even with Damian Lillard being limited to 13 points.
Even with Nikola Jokic averaging an incredible 25.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 8.4 assists in last year’s playoffs, the Nuggets came up short. That was even with Jamal Murray also chipping in 21.3 points per game, too. In order to undertake a lengthier playoff run, the Nuggets will need some members of its supporting cast to raise their performance.
There is a possibility the Nuggets end up facing some of the more explosive offenses in the NBA in their first-round matchup. As the third seed in the Western Conference, they are currently slotted to face off with the Houston Rockets if the seeding were locked in, but there’s more left to play out.
With that being said, here are three players the Denver Nuggets need to step up after the NBA season returns.
