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Denver Nuggets shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was recently asked which Western Conference teams he considers the biggest threats to Denver’s NBA title defense. Despite naming three squads, the two-time champion omitted two of last year’s West semifinalists, the LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
With 17 games remaining, the Nuggets (45-20) are tied with the OKC Thunder for first in the West and second in the league. Thus, they are considered favorites to advance to the NBA Finals again. However, with the West’s top-eight seeds separated by just 8.0 games, Denver will likely face a tough pathway to the finals.
During an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Caldwell-Pope was asked which West teams could pose the toughest challenge to the Nuggets’ title defense. The 31-year-old named the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns (38-27) and third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (45-21).
He added that OKC is a lurking dark horse despite being a young, inexperienced team.
“I would say a healthy Phoenix [and] a healthy Minnesota 'cause Minnesota’s always been tough, even last year,” Caldwell-Pope said. “And there’s a lot of young teams, like OKC is on the rise, too, man.”
Denver defeated Minnesota (4-1) and Phoenix (4-2) in the first and second rounds of last year’s playoffs, with Caldwell-Pope playing a key role. However, both teams could provide bigger threats to the Nuggets this year.
The Timberwolves boast the league’s No. 1 defense (108.3 defensive rating). Meanwhile, when healthy, the Suns have arguably the NBA’s top Big 3 (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal).
Nevertheless, Caldwell-Pope failed to acknowledge Denver’s 2023 West finals opponent, the Lakers, whom they swept 4-0. He also snubbed the Warriors, whom LA dispatched 4-2 in last year’s West semifinals.
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Nuggets could match up against Lakers or Warriors in first round of 2024 playoffs
LA (36-30) and Golden State (34-30) are battling for play-in position, sitting ninth and 10th in the West, respectively. So, they aren’t playoff locks. However, both teams have proven cores that have won NBA titles.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope witnessed firsthand the ceiling of a LeBron James-led Lakers team, as he started on LA’s 2020 title squad. Meanwhile, Steph Curry has led the Warriors to four championships since 2015.
It is widely assumed that the West’s top seeds would prefer avoiding the Lakers and Warriors in the first round. However, given the Nuggets’ placement in the standings, there’s a decent chance they could match up against either team if they advance past the play-in.
If so, it remains to be seen if Caldwell-Pope's comments will provide bulletin board material for either squad.
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