Oklahoma City Thunder: Ranking playoff matchups in terms of favorability

#1) Denver Nuggets

So, the Nuggets are a bit of an anomaly, in my humble opinion.

They possess a striking young core with no shortage of talent, they’re only one year removed from being one game—actually one quarter—away from hosting games in the western conference finals and they’re an improved squad with the additions of Michael Porter Jr. and Jerami Grant.

Despite those glaring truths I still find myself doubting their legitimacy.

What team will show up in the opening round of the playoffs? Will the team filled with tantalizing upside experience a breakthrough of sorts and realize their potential? Or will the team that has often been synonymous with inconsistency show up and disappoint?

Nikola Jokic announced his arrival amongst the premier offensive talents in the league last postseason with averages of 25.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 8.4 assists, but he’s still but one man.

At this point in his career, Jamal Murray is an up-and-down, streaky scorer than can drop 40-50 on any given night, or depress your eyes with inefficient, arbitrary offense.

Gary Harris has never really been the same since his injury, Will Barton is boasting gaudy numbers but heavily struggled in last year’s postseason, and Paul Millsap isn’t exactly getting any younger.

Simply put: you don’t know what you’re getting with the Denver Nuggets. Hence why of the elite teams in the conference, I’d be most content with this potential matchup.

The two teams haven’t faced yet this season, so there is no sample size to use as reference, but it’d be an intriguing conflict between the two most clutch teams in the association.