The Nuggets Have Won the West!

     

            Written By: Spencer Teman, of Swish Tribune

            Since the Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976, they had never made the NBA Finals once. 47 years later, this streak has finally ended as the Nuggets have become one of the few teams that have never made the finals to finally make them.

            The Nuggets did it in absolute dominant fashion by sweeping Lebron James and the Lakers to get one step closer to the promise land. They went through the Timberwolves in five games, the Suns in six games, and the Lakers in four games. They haven't had a series yet that has made it to the maximum seven games which further shows how dominant they have been.

            They made it past Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns easily. Then, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and finally Lebron James and Anthony Davis. It's clear that nothing right now scares the Nuggets and they can beat any team they match up against. 

            The reason why they can beat any team they match up against is because of their dynamic duo in Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Jokic, who should've been this year's MVP for the third year in a row, has been the best player on the planet in the past month or so. He puts up unreal numbers every single night, never taking a night off and putting the team on his back. 

            Jamal Murray has also stepped up big time as well. For the past couple of years, the Nuggets could never get over the hump of getting to the NBA Finals and people thought it may be time for a change at point guard in Denver. Jamal Murray put these remarks behind him and has not looked back ever since. He is the definition of a clutch player showing this in game 2 when he put up 23 4th quarter points to give the Nuggets a victory that game. 

            As for the Lakers, where do they go from here? They had an amazing run, coming in as the #7 seed, making it through the play-in, and making it all the way to the conference finals. Plus they started off the season 2-10 and at one point had just a 0.3% chance of making the postseason. It was a great first year for Darvin Ham and his coaching staff as well as having arguably the best trade deadline out of every team.

            What will Lebron James do as he closes out his 20th season in the NBA? He still has sometime left on his contract as a Laker, but there has been speculation that he may hang it up after dominating the league for the past two decades. Rob Pelinka did a great job assembling this team and making sure that there was no panic even after their rough start. A job well done to the Lakers although in the end they came up just short of reaching the finals. 

            The Nuggets might not have to wait long to see who they will matchup against in the NBA Finals if the Miami Heat can close out the Boston Celtics tonight. I'm not sure when the last time both conference finals ended in sweeps, but if the Heat could complete it tonight, then that would be pretty crazy. 

            The headline of Jimmy Butler vs Nikola Jokic would be a great watch for the entire sports world. Arguably the best two performers in this year's playoffs matching up with one another to see who can win their first championship. Butler has been after it a long time, while Jokic has dominated the league the past couple years winning two MVPs. A lot could change if the Heat do lose tonight on the other hand though. 

            The city of Denver has had a lot to cheer about with these two and also the Avalanche just a season ago taking home a Stanley Cup of their own as well. Things are certainly cooking right now in Denver and currently they are definitely up there as one of the best sports cities in the country. 

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