Denver Nuggets: Case for keeping perspective…and Michael Porter Jr.
The Denver Nuggets fell in the second round to the Phoenix Suns. Denver didn’t have anything resembling its healthy backcourt. And now Phoenix has a 2-1 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals.
Is it possible, in a world without Jamal Murray and facing a significantly hobbled core, to give this team a break and celebrate its first-round victory over superstar Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers?
Some have recently fixated on the concept of Denver’s “failed championship run,” ignoring the fact Murray’s ACL tear ended the quest before it started. Now, these unrealistic expectations have rained down onto Michael Porter Jr. involving his potential extension.
Here’s why this thinking is fatal to the Nuggets’ future.
The Denver Nuggets experienced a low point under Brian Shaw and rebounded too well to fall prisoner to a championship-or-bust-despite-injuries mindset.
Seven years ago, Mile High Basketball had a less-than-flattering connotation. This is when coach Brian Shaw was canned midseason, having steered the squad to a .338 winning percentage.
Seven years ago, the arena was barren, not due to Covid, but because the product was awful. The cost of lower-level tickets was a mere $15 dollars — fans who did attend chose to sit higher, further from the painful basketball and closer to the Dippin’ Dots.
Seven years ago the players infamously chanted “six weeks,” an anticipatory shout towards the end of the season when the miserableness would cease.
It’s time for some 2021 perspective, folks.
Some narratives have the worst-case scenario as a near-championship squad failing to win it all. Let this walk down memory lane serve as a reminder, Nuggets fans, that darker days exist than a consistently strong team failing to win a championship.
Because there is a significant benefit to a squad that finishes top-3 in the Western Conference for multiple years, even if a championship is not attained.
Look at Nuggets Nation now. The atmosphere is hyped, both in the arena and surrounding restaurants and bars. Local excitement fills the air, as the city comes together to support its playoff-bound team each season.
On the other side, want to hear a championship-or-bust story? How about the Denver Broncos.
The 2016 Super Bowl championship was followed by a brutal streak of crudely horrendous football, a crap storm large enough to blot out the sun, much less the Donkeys’ lone championship in decades. Nine consecutive post-Peyton Manning quarterbacks have arrived and flopped, causing fans to dissipate in waves.
But don’t worry – John Elway fired himself by way of promotion. So it’s all good.
Meanwhile, Nuggets fans await Murray’s return with salivating excitement. The 2020-21 squad may have exited the playoffs earlier than expected upon Aaron Gordon’s acquisition, but fans worth their salt know Murray’s injury warrants a giant asterisk.
The core of MVP Nikola Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon has the chance to do great things next season. Again. Because honestly, great things have already been accomplished with three straight top-3 finishes and semifinals appearances.
As long as the Nuggets have this high-caliber roster, they should continue among the Western Conference elites and compete for titles for the foreseeable future. Isn’t this far better than the Broncos’ one championship-and-tumble venture?
This brings us to Michael Porter Jr. and the Denver Nuggets
Post-All-Star game, Porter averaged 22.3 points per game while shooting an unworldly 56.4 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from 3-point range.
The volume-efficiency combination Porter possesses is truly amazing, and there’s a legitimate Kevin Durant comparison here. He should be an All-Star next season, as Denver needs him to score with Murray sidelined to start the year.
MPJ will be a better-polished scorer in the 2022 playoffs with Murray fully healthy, giving Denver one of the league’s most potent Big-3 combinations. Anyone else getting excited for the next postseason, far away as it may be?
Defensively, Porter struggled in the 2021 playoffs, as many young players do. Remember Murray was also targeted two seasons ago, and then grew to be an average defender? Now it’s Porter’s turn to follow this blueprint and cease to be picked on.
No longer should the whisperings of championship-or-bust plague Nuggets fans in their attitude towards Porter’s defense, when his offense helped Denver maintain its high seeding despite Murray’s injury.
When talent like MPJ lands in a smaller-market city, it’s important to keep him. Lock him up, pay the max, and continue finishing top-3 in the West with a core of Jokic, Murray and Porter.
Remember the Broncos. And remember the Denver Nuggets in their previous era. Learn from these mistakes, Nuggets brass, and continue in success by keeping Porter.
