At the end of every regular season, playoff seeding becomes the main topic of conversation. Should teams try to dictate the standings? Or should they play to win no matter what, matchups be damned?
This is the dilemma that the Denver Nuggets had at the end of the season. They decided to take the latter route. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs, which set them up with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. If they lost, they would have played the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Lakers in round one.
The Nuggets are definitely feeling the impact of that decision now and while hindsight is 20/20, the decision they should have made is obvious.
Denver’s end of season win is now coming back to haunt them
While the Lakers are playing great basketball against the Rockets, the Nuggets would have posed all kinds of matchup nightmares for them. Denver has owned the postseason matchups with LA in recent memory and with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves shelved, they could have made quick work of the Lakers.
Instead, the Nuggets are set to have another playoff war with the Wolves. In their last 30 matchups, the two teams are knotted up at 15-15. The last time they met in the playoffs, Minnesota came back from a 20 point deficit on the road to win Game 7 and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Now, the two squads are tied at 1-1 as the Wolves head home for games three and four. This is a Minnesota team that has the size, length, and star power to push the Nuggets.
Rudy Gobert did a phenomenal job making life difficult for Nikola Jokic in Game Two. Julius Randle has been a pain for Denver in the paint. Donte DiVencenzo, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosumnu have been pests on both ends of the floor.
Even if the Nuggets get out of this series, how much are they going to have left? Yes, it is a good test for them, but this is exactly why teams need to at least think about the playoff path. You play who you play yes sure, but the goal is to win four series, not one. Optimizing that is important for playoff longevity.
Denver is headed towards another war with Minnesota. We’ll see which side comes out bloodied and victorious, but you have to wonder whether or not the Nuggets would rather be the four seed and playing the Lakers in round one, with a potentially banged-up OKC in round two. Time will tell if one route was better than the other.
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