It’d be easier, and far more satisfying, to turn the page to next season when the Nuggets can dream of a playoff run extending well into June.
But there’s a whole offseason to determine how dominant that iteration of the Nuggets can be.
Instead, in the wake of Denver’s 4-1 ouster by Golden State in the first round, it’s informative to audit the season that was and to understand that, in many ways, the Nuggets overachieved.
If teams take on the identity of their best player, the Nuggets couldn’t have done much better than embracing the best attributes of MVP center Nikola Jokic.