Strike 1: The Los Angeles Lakers have won 17 NBA championships during their storied history, so it was something of a surprise when LeBron and company treated last season’s inaugural NBA Cup triumph like it was title No. 18. They hung another banner, but stopped short of holding an in-season parade through downtown LA.
Would the Denver Nuggets have done the same?
There’s no question the league – trying to generate as much interest and excitement as possible for their latest invention – was pleased with the Lakers’ reaction. Perhaps each organization was “encouraged” to treat the in-season tournament like it was more important than most basketball followers thought it was? There was plenty of financial motivation – each winning player got a $500,000 bonus check – but other than that, at least the multicolor courts were cool.
At the time, the defending NBA champion Nuggets just yawned. There was next to no NBA Cup fever around here.
In-season tournament No. 2 began for the Nuggets in New Orleans against the depleted Pelicans. But the depleted Nuggets (no Aaron Gordon, no Nikola Jokic and no head coach Michael Malone) could not take advantage and get a road victory. The second Cup game is Tuesday night in Memphis. Without Joker and AG, they probably won’t win that one, either. That means their chances of capturing the 2025 NBA Cup for themselves is somewhat negligible.
Do they care?
Or do they care more about the continual development of their young reserve players and about getting and staying healthy for those meaningful games in the spring?
Clearly the NBA Cup is a fun diversion and all that, but if your only goal is a June parade, it’s just that: a diversion.
For the Nuggets, the Cup isn’t the concern right now. Assuming they get Jokic back sometime soon, the brief losing streak that has coincided with his excused absence won’t be a reason to panic. But what if Joker was not available for a long stretch during the season? We’ve seen what happens when Denver doesn’t have Michael Porter Jr and/or Jamal Murray for a significant period of time. If Joker was out, what would Denver do, just tank?
Maybe.
That’s why this period is more about young player development than it is about chasing some almost meaningless tournament title.
Certainly, no single player can replace Joker’s MVP contributions. But what combination of guys might be able to?
Porter and Murray would have to step up big time. And Gordon would be counted on heavily. Dario Saric maybe? He wasn’t terrible in a starting role in New Orleans, and displayed a playing style similar to Jokic’s, which is very good news. If Saric was teamed with Murray. AG and MPJ, would Denver be competitive?
Just as importantly, could the Nuggets bench be a plus rather than a nightly minus?
If the rest of the Nuggets roster knew there was no Joker to fall back on, would they step it up? Would Julian Strawther find his 3-point stroke? Would Peyton Watson elevate his offensive game? Would Zeke Nnaji become the front court force the Nuggets front office thought they’d have when the signed him to a big contract?
These questions are actually way more important than winning the NBA Cup when your ultimate goal is winning another O’Brien Trophy.
