By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – The Denver Nuggets head into the 2023-24 NBA season as defending champions but not necessarily the title favorites after the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns all upgraded their rosters via blockbuster offseason acquisitions.
The Nuggets bring back the same starting five that delivered the franchise its first championship last season, led again by the tandem of Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and sharpshooting guard Jamal Murray.
But the Nuggets must survive the loss of key role players Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in a competitive Western Conference that includes a Suns squad that added Bradley Beal to create a Big Three with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
The Golden State Warriors, determined to add another title before their championship window closes, nabbed veteran guard Chris Paul.
The team boasts a mix of all-time greats in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and promising young talent like Jonathan Kuminga for head coach Steve Kerr to direct.
“The West is so hard to predict because there’s such a thin margin for error,” Warriors general manager turned ESPN broadcaster Bob Myers said on a call with reporters.
“Denver you clearly have to separate out a little bit because they just did it. They lost a little bit of their bench depth, which is not something just to ignore.
“But they still have what you might argue is the best player… in Jokic who can control possessions on offense as good as LeBron (James) ever did from a different type of position. Denver is great.”
James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who fell to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals last season, have designs on lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy come June, as do the steadily improving Memphis Grizzlies.
“We can all throw out our predictions, but this is a tough one in the West,” Myers said.
SEISMIC SHIFTS
While seismic offseason shifts are nothing new in the player-empowered league, the transformation of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference is striking.
The team raised eyebrows in June by trading their longest tenured player, fan favorite and defensive heartbeat Marcus Smart, as part of a three-team deal that brought big man Kristaps Porzingis to Boston in a high risk, high reward move.
Nervous fans breathed a sigh of relief a month later when Boston made Jaylen Brown the highest paid player in the league with a five-year, $304 million supermax contact extension.
Then the front office landed point guard Jrue Holiday, who along with Brown, Porzingis, All-Star Jayson Tatum and the underappreciated Derrick White, comprise arguably the best starting five in the league.
The Bucks meanwhile were surprise winners of the Damian Lillard sweepstakes. With him joining two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the team is sure to be an offensive juggernaut.
They were, however, forced to part with Holiday to secure Lillard and their perimeter defense could suffer as a result.
Unlike the crowded Western Conference, Myers sees a simpler picture taking shape in the East.
“In the East, I do think there’s two teams that are in a tier by themselves and that’s Milwaukee and Boston,” he said.
“Personally, if you made me choose, I would put Boston ahead right now of Milwaukee.”
Like Boston and Denver, Milwaukee’s starting five is impressive but the team lacks depth and all three clubs will be at the mercy of injuries to star players as the 82-games season wears on.
The NBA regular season tips off on Tuesday. The league will hold its first ever in-season tournament starting on Nov. 3 and concluding Dec. 9 in Las Vegas. The NBA Finals begin June 6.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)
