Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić give the Nuggets a chance to beat anyone

The NBA playoffs are now here and we have now seen all 16 teams play one playoff game. According to FanDuel, the teams who currently have the highest odds of winning the NBA Championship are the Oklahoma City Thunder (-120), San Antonio Spurs (+600), and Boston Celtics (+600).

Those three teams impressed in their respective Game 1s, all notching double-digit wins over their opponents, with the Thunder and Celtics each winning by 30+ points.

However, it feels like no one is talking about the Denver Nuggets, who also handled their business in Game 1 -- defeating a Minnesota Timberwolves team that is more formidable than any of the matchups those other three organizations are dealing with.

Now, Denver is not without their flaws. They finished the regular season with the 21st-ranked defense, and the last team to go all the way with a bottom-10 defense is the 2002-03 Los Angeles Lakers. But with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić there to guide them into battle, Denver is always a threat.

The dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić

Ever since Murray came back from his torn ACL in 2022, he and Jokić have shared the floor for 6,263 minutes, and in that span, the Nuggets have a net rating of plus-12.5 (per PBP Stats). In the playoffs, against even fiercer competition, Denver still has a net rating of plus-5.7 in 1,580 minutes.

Even this year, Denver is dynamite when those two are on the floor, posting a net rating of plus-12.1. So, it is not like the league has caught up to them in the way they have with the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry/Draymond Green (who have had a net rating of just 5.4 in 889 minutes).

We saw the brilliance of the Murray/Jokić tandem in Game 1, as they handled an old nemesis rather handedly. In their 32 minutes on the floor together, Denver had plus-14.6 net rating, despite their team shooting 22.2 percent from 3 in that time.

This just shows how reliable and consistent Denver's offense is with these two playing off one another. Their shared gravity and scoring ability allows them to consistently generate good shots inside the arc, as evidence by their team shooting 55.6 percent on 2s against the Timberwolves in Game 1. The best offenses don't rely on the variance of the 3-point game. They put an immense pressure on the rim. That is exactly what Jokic and Murray do when they are on the court together. And they have proven the ability to ability to do this both in the regular season and playoffs.

Arguably no one will have a heavier gauntlet of defensive juggernauts to deal with as they navigate the playoffs. The Timberwolves have the eighth-best defense in the NBA. After that, the third-ranked Spurs and first-ranked Thunder will be waiting. And if Denver is fortunate enough to survive those challenges, the Celtics and Detroit Pistons (two possible opponents) are also top four defenses.

Over the next few months, this Denver offense is going to be put to the test, but with Murray and Jokić healthy (*knock on wood*) and firing on all cylinders, the Nuggets have a chance to beat anyone.

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