The Denver Nuggets now have a championship to defend and the competition will be stiff. Here are three teams that will challenge them next season.
For the first time in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets have won the NBA Championship. They beat the Miami Heat fairly easily winning the series 4-1 and center Nikola Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP.
After dominating the playoffs, going 16-4, the Nuggets now enter the 2024 season as the title favorite according to multiple sports betting books.
The Nuggets have played some of the most fluid team basketball since the prime Golden State Warriors and, at times, looked almost impossible to defend. But this team is not unbeatable and these are some of the inner circle contenders likely to challenge them next year.
3 teams that will contend with the Nuggets: 3. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers were one of the strangest teams this past season. They started off the season at 2-10, then at the trade deadline, they were 25-31 as the No. 13 seed. They made some moves, finished the season at 43-39 and made the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers were extremely close to winning the championship this year, even though they got swept by the Nuggets, it was the most competitive sweep in NBA history as every game was close in the fourth quarter. '
With that being said, the Lakers should strongly believe that they have a chance to win a championship in 2024. LeBron struggled against the Nuggets but he's still LeBron and when Anthony Davis is healthy, he is the best two-way player in the NBA.
One of the reasons the Lakers didn't beat the Nuggets this year is that the Nuggets role players played extremely well and Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic kept hitting crazy shot after crazy shot. That means the Lakers do need to do some revamping to their roster by adding a couple of knockdown 3-point shooters and adding some perimeter and interior defense.
If the Lakers enter the 2024 season fully healthy where they are at the top of the western conference for most of the season, LeBron and AD can coast through the last few weeks of the season. Their number one priority is for both players to be fully healthy and rested for the playoffs. If that is the case, the Lakers can make a serious run at the title.
3 teams that will contend with the Nuggets: 2. Phoenix Suns
When you have Kevin Durant on your team, you are always going to be in the conversation for winning the NBA Championship. Having Devin Booker along at his side, the Phoenix Suns are going to be the Nuggets' biggest threat in the West.
Of all the teams that the Nuggets played this postseason, the Suns gave them the most problems. They took the Nuggets to six games and Devin Booker went haywire. The biggest reason why the Suns lost is that their role players were significantly worse than the Nuggets. Also, let's not forget the Chris Paul injury.
With the Suns firing Monty Williams and looking to move on from Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, now is their chance to revamp the roster. The Nuggets struggled to guard Devin Booker as he averaged 30.8 points on 57/55/88 splits. In the last two games of that series, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant just hit the wall because they were forced to do everything.
The Suns have one of the best duos in the NBA, and both of them have NBA Finals experience. If the Suns can fill out the roster around them that could limit the damage of the other role players that the Nuggets have, the Suns are going to be serious threats to win the West and the title.
Here are 3 teams that can contend with the Nuggets: 1. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in the NBA this season. They entered the 2023 playoffs with the best record in the NBA but lost in the first round to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat. Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured for the first three games but nonetheless, they were embarrassed.
As the Bucks enter the 2024 season, they fired their head coach Mike Budenholzer and replaced him with Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. They also have some decisions to make in regard to an aging Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, both of whom should be hitting free agency.
Expect Giannis and the Bucks to come back next season completely revamped and revitalized. The Bucks should have a full season with a healthy Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo. They will once again be one of the top defensive teams in the league.
Shockingly enough, the Bucks last season was 12th in offensive rating. One of the reasons is because of the Khris Middleton injury but also because of coach Bud allowing the Bucks to play in a fairly stagnant offense. Hopefully, having former NBA player Adrian Griffin as the new head coach will benefit the Bucks. As long as he can make adjustments he would be doing a better job than coach Bud.
The Bucks have the size, length and versatility to bother the Nuggets with their defense as they also have the physicality to bother them on offense. The Bucks are the biggest threat to the Nuggets' championship hopes next season.
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.
