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One short month. A month from today, the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets will wake up to a completed regular season and whatever their playoff fates hold. With 66 games each under their belts, and a scant sixteen games left, they have each rounded the final bend of their campaigns and are in the last straightaway to the finish line. Each team has won a championship in the last 1,000 days, and still have some of the nucleus of those squads intact. Is either team in the right position to reclaim their title?
With the Avs currently in third place in their division, and the Nuggets currently in third in their conference, what outcomes place each of them in the best position for another ring? How does the rest of the year compare to where they’d positioned themselves the year they won it all?
The Avalanche are currently 39-24-3, a different story from the Stanley Cup season of 2021-22. They were leading or pushing for the lead in the Central Division through most of that year, and a loss in Game 66 dropped them to a still-stellar 46-14-6, just shy of 100 points (98) with a lot of season left. That makes the 81 points they’re currently at look pretty paltry. The grit that carried them to those six OT losses in ’21-’22 stuck with them all the way through the end of the regular season, adding another 21 points to keep them in first place throughout. Their depth and cohesiveness also gave them time to rest key players down the stretch and hit the playoffs pretty fresh.
In the playoffs, that rested depth and and cohesiveness simply overwhelmed opponents, where they got their needed 16 wins in a scant 20 games. They were as good as they had looked, all season long.
The next year, the Nuggets – who are currently 42-24 – were also a different story in their championship year of 2022-23. The Nuggets were in first place in the Western Conference throughout much of that season, having opened up a seven game lead on the second seed after 66 games. A loss in Game 66 dropped them to a still-stellar 46-20. The team made certain they were well-rested during a 7-9 exit that still saw them take the Western Conference that year. A lot of that coming from the depth and cohesiveness that had gotten them there in the first place,
In the playoffs, that rested depth and and cohesiveness simply overwhelmed opponents, where they got their needed 16 wins in a scant 20 games. They were as good as they had looked, all season long.
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Yes, I did just copy and paste that last bit. Just as true.
It’s true that the Colorado Avalanche went pretty hard at the trade deadline this year, and maybe those moves will catapult them up the standings, as well as they have recently played. They look hot rolling into a decently-tough remaining schedule to finish up these last 16 games. There are teams who have had their number this year that they may still see in these playoffs. The depth is now there, can they gain the cohesiveness they’ll need to get those 16 playoff wins? TBD.
The Nuggets stood pat this year, as they have had to shuffle the deck with injuries dotting the season, and knowing they’ve got one of the best rosters in the league when firing on all cylinders. They look hot, and not, and then hot again, rolling into a decently-tough remaining schedule to finish up these last 16 games. There are teams who have had their number this year that they may still see in these playoffs. Koff, Minnesota, koff. If they can manage to have all of their depth back in place and healthy, will they have the cohesiveness they’ll need to get those 16 playoff wins? TBD.
Same history, same hill to climb. Hell, same damned building. Can either of last year’s MVPs lift their team to the top of this mountain? 16 games left, and then a shot at 16 wins. Sweet.
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Oct 26, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche player Nathan MacKinnon (R) presents Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (L) with his KIA NBA MVP trophy before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
P.S. Neither of the gents above won the MVP the year they won their championship. Leon and Shai, you can have those regular season awards if we can have have a dual parade this year.
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