On an afternoon more suitable for slalom than basketball, the Nuggets proved that with the perfect snowstorm, they can win the NBA championship.
The Nuggets beat the Celtics on Sunday. They just beat the Cavaliers on the road. On Feb. 5 they beat the Lakers in Los Angeles. Those are the two most recent titlists and the team with the league’s paramount mark.
The Nuggets have beaten all the other division leaders now, and own a 7-1 record against the five. Only the Mavs have beaten the Nugs.
The Nuggets are 17-7 in 2010 and 24-5 at home this season, and they passed the Celtics for fourth- best record in the NBA at 37-19.
The Nuggets can win the NBA championship.
This is the first Nuggets team since the franchise joined the NBA in 1976 that can win the NBA championship — and the first that can go to any kind of Finals since the last Nuggets team of the ABA. I’ve watched them all since the early 1970s, and I’m convinced.
These Nuggets of Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin, Nene, Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen and Ty Lawson are better than those Nuggets of David Thompson, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Ralph Simpson, Chuck Williams, Marvin Webster, Byron Beck and Gus Gerard, who won 60 games in 1975-76. Larry Brown would agree.
These Nuggets are better than the 1984-85 Nuggets (52-30), who reached the Western Conference finals and included Alex English, Issel, Wayne Cooper, Calvin Natt, Fat Lever, T.R. Dunn, Bill Hanzlik and Danny Schayes. Doug Moe will agree.
These Nuggets are better than the 1993-94 Nuggets (42-40) of Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Rodney Rogers, Robert Pack, Brian Williams and Bryant Stith, who became the first eighth seed to upset a No. 1 seed. Issel will agree.
These Nuggets are better than last season’s Nuggets (54-28), who went down hard to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. George Karl will agree. Only two major roster changes were made, and Afflalo and rookie Lawson have become significant upgrades. And the other Nuggets — notably Anthony, Billups and Martin — have stepped up their games, and Mr. Smith is still J.R. Swish, J.R. Squish, J.R. Bewildering.
Those Nuggets of last year lost at home to the Celtics 114-76.
These Nuggets of this year have lost only five games when all five starters have played. These Nuggets are more confident, possessed, assertive than those Nuggets.
And they have a cause. The Nuggets are playing to win for Karl, who has never coached an NBA championship team and is confronting, head-on, his health crisis.
“I don’t want to be a story,” Karl said after the Nuggets’ first home game since his announcement that he has been diagnosed with cancer again. “I want to be a part of this challenge, winning my battle with cancer and, hopefully, winning an NBA championship.”
Although the sellout crowd greeted Karl with a boisterous standing ovation, the officiating crew didn’t feel sorry for Karl. He was smacked with a technical in the second quarter. The Celtics didn’t feel sorry for the Nuggets. After trailing by 20 points in the first quarter, they tied the Nuggets in the third quarter at 66. Karl didn’t feel sorry for himself. The Nuggets slalomed away to a 15-point lead with six minutes left.
“We’ve made a pretty strong statement this year when we have our top eight players. Pretty strong statement.”
To the NBANation, the Lakers and the Cavaliers are the guaranteed, cast-iron Finals foes. Not so fast there, American Idle.
The Nuggets can win the NBA championship if:
• They don’t have to play somebody like Sacramento in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets are slackers against the lesserlites on the road, and a loss to the Wizards is intolerable when the Jazz is clinging like Saran Wrap.
• They play as perfectly as they did in the first quarter Sunday. The Nuggets shot the ball (77.8 percent), passed the ball (eight assists), rebounded the ball (12 rebounds to four), protected the ball (two turnovers), blocked the ball (four rejects), stole the ball (three) and defended the ball (19 points by the Celtics) and canned the ball (37 points).
• They don’t play as imperfectly as they did in the second and third quarters when the Celtics refused to go droopy.
• They get assists from Carmelo (eight), the usual superb overall effort and leadership from Chauncey, 3-pointers from J.R., blocks and jams by the Birdman, Snuggie-covering defense from K-Mart, a double-double from Nene, a solid contribution by A.A. on both ends and an active Ty-breaker.
• The Eight-Is-Enough Nuggets avoid injuries and, Karl said Sunday, “have that high energy and trust in each other.”
• In the playoffs the Nuggets feed off Karl’s true grit.
Based on their victory at The Can on Sunday, the Nuggets’ mantra for the rest of the season must be “Can Do.”
Yes indeed, the Nuggets can win the NBA championship.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
