Nuggets Bubble Brilliance Reveals Portland Trail Blazers’ Prowess

Does the Denver Nuggets play within the Orlando bubble require newfound respect for the Portland Trail Blazers 2019 campaign?

During and after the Portland Trail Blazers run to the 2019 Western Conference Finals, certain fans and analysts uttered copious amounts of scathing commentary relating to the legitimacy of the Blazers’ accomplishment. The chatter was primarily focused on whether their success should have an asterisk attached to it. The eventual sweep to the Golden State Warriors didn’t help in silencing that conversation.

The thought process was that the three best teams in the Western Conference playoffs were all in one half of the bracket. That group included the Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, and Clippers. This meant that the half that had the Blazers, Nuggets, Thunder, and Spurs were the Junior Varsity equivalent.

While this argument had some merit, in large part, because the Warriors and Rockets had competed in the previous Western Conference Finals, it understated how competitive the entire conference is and has been for decades. It also failed to recognize how quickly things can change regarding who moves in and out of the true contender tier.

Yes, the Jazz and Clippers have been mainstays amongst the conference elite, but so too have the Spurs and Thunder. San Antonio, despite not having it’s best player in Aldridge during the bubble, still performed admirably and nearly made their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance.

Oklahoma City illustrated once more this season that they are a first-class organization and that they are capable of winning at a high level despite a continuous churn of talent. They were one Lu Dort three from beating the Rockets in this year’s playoffs! That back and forth series materialized despite most pundits labeling Houston as a contender and denigrating Oklahoma City as a team that was fortunate to make the postseason altogether.

The Blazers beat the 2019 Thunder in five games, highlighted by Damian Lillard’s 37-footer at the buzzer. Dispatching any team in that fashion is impressive, but it was even more worthy of acclaim considering the Thunder had First Team All NBA forward Paul George and Third Team All NBA guard Russell Westbrook.

In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Blazers took on and beat the two seed Denver Nuggets in seven games, capped off by C.J. McCollum’s 37 point performance in the decisive game. The Nuggets had star Nikola Jokic, another First Team All NBA performer. He was sensational in defeat, averaging 27.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game.

The Blazers took out 40 percent of the All NBA First Team members on their way to the Western Conference Finals. They also did this without arguably their second-best player in Jusuf Nurkic. No team can win multiple playoff series without dispatching great players or worthy opposition.

It’s also unfair to discredit any team over something that is out of their control. A team’s job in the postseason is to beat the group in front of them. The Blazers did that twice and deserve all the plaudits that come with that accomplishment.

By beating the likes of the Jazz and Clippers in the bubble (two teams that were on the supposed Varsity side of the bracket in 2019), the Nuggets have altered their reputation from a young, inexperienced team that was looked upon as more of a regular-season success story, to a team that appears to be a contender for the foreseeable future.

Jokic has put together another truly fantastic postseason in the Orlando bubble. He’s averaging 25.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 17 games. He’s gotten more help from the likes of Jamal Murray this time around, who is averaging 26.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.

The two of them have formed one of the greatest pick-and-roll combinations the league has ever seen. They both can score at all three levels, they both can attack mismatches, and they both can pass if the defense gets overeager with their help responsibilities.

Based on Denver’s brilliance in the bubble, the Blazers victory over them last campaign looks better and better by the day. It is gratifying to see that the chatter around downplaying achievements and including asterisks are temporary, short-sighted debates. Hindsight has shown the incredible challenges that were overcome and a level of competition that did not at first meet the eye.