(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets were unable to defend their championship during the 2024 NBA Playoffs as they were bounced out of the second round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite Nikola Jokic capturing his third MVP award, Denver’s lack of quality depth behind their starting five showed in the series loss to Minnesota.
The Nuggets lost Bruce Brown the previous offseason to the Indiana Pacers in free agency and they were unable to replace his two-way versatility.
Christian Braun took a step forward, though he was arguably the only young player to make a meaningful contribution during their postseason.
Making matters worse is the Nuggets lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency after he signed with the Orlando Magic.
General manager Calvin Booth spoke to the difficulties of winning titles and admitted the organization is up against it to get back the mountaintop via SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“Once you actually accomplish winning a championship…you realize how hard it’s going to be to win the next one,” Booth said
“Once you actually accomplish winning a championship…you realize how hard it’s going to be to win the next one”
Nuggets GM Calvin Booth reflects on falling short of expectations this past season with @TermineRadio, @Jumpshot8, & Ryan McDonough at #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/Q8j2atT3GY
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 14, 2024
Winning in the NBA is incredibly hard and even the best teams fall short despite them having the right pieces and coaching staff in place.
Denver was considered the favorite to come out of the Western Conference for the second consecutive year, but ran into a Minnesota team that was bigger, more athletic and more physical than what they were used to.
The Nuggets are expected to be right in the mix for the title come the 2024-25 NBA season, but the rest of the Western Conference is loaded and they could see themselves exiting the playoffs early again.
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