Howard Beck

The Nuggets, I thought, came into this postseason as a legit contender.

And right now, win the series or not, they're a diminished figure collectively.

And Jokic is diminished by the struggles he's had in this series.

Look, I mean, people are going to want to make this a referendum on Jokic, and he bears some responsibility.

Every superstar, especially of his caliber, a multi-time MVP, a finals MVP and champion, you do bear some responsibility, but the fact is the Nuggets...

with a hobbled Aaron Gordon and no Peyton Watson were, you know, they were in the hole from the beginning here.

Those are their two most important defenders for a team that is not exactly known for its defense.

And when they're at their absolute best, they can flirt with being a top 10-ish defensive team, but usually more like, you know, middle of the pack defensive team, but they're so elite offensively because of Jokic.

that they can get away with it.

If you don't have Aaron Gordon or a diminished Aaron Gordon because he's hurt, if you don't have Peyton Watson, everything just kind of falls apart from there.

And, you know, that's just the bargain you've struck with this roster, with this build.

And, you know, it's tough because, and I, you know, I wrote about this coming into the postseason.

Our editors asked us, you know, do the usual survey questions.

And one of them was, who's got the most at stake in this postseason?

And I went a little bit off the board here and I said Jokic because I think it's his last real chance possibly for another championship.

It's been a couple of years since the first one.

You think you're going to have this huge window.

People are prematurely proclaiming you a dynasty in the making.

It's hard to get back.

They haven't been back.