NBA Playoffs 2019: Power ranking the first-round matchups
3. Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs
The Denver Nuggets squeaked into the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, thus escaping the side of the playoff bracket with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. While their late-season chicanery worked wonders, a first-round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs could prove to be regrettable.
While many of the Nuggets’ core players are postseason neophytes, the Spurs boast plenty of playoff experience.
This will be LaMarcus Aldridge’s sixth straight trip to the playoffs and ninth altogether, while DeMar DeRozan has made six straight appearances as well. Leading the way will be head coach Gregg Popovich, who has won five NBA championships and made the postseason for an unfathomable 22 consecutive years.
The Nuggets have the clear talent advantage over a Spurs squad whose fourth- and fifth-leading scorers are Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli, respectively, but that hasn’t stopped skepticism about their chances in this series. They ended the regular season on a 5-6 skid, which began with a 124-88 pantsing at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Monte Morris and Malik Beasley will all be making their playoff debuts in this series, which adds an element of uncertainty to how the proceedings will unfold. The crucible of a seven-game series is far different than a regular-season matchup, and how head coach Mike Malone navigates against Popovich could go a long way toward determining the outcome of this series.