The Denver Nuggets’ Title Defense Is Showing Early Cracks

Associated Press/Ringer illustration It's not that Denver finally dropped a game to L.A. It's that the Nuggets haven't looked quite like themselves, Jamal Murray's health is uncertain, and their Western Conference challengers have been even more dominant than expected. One loss should never be the sole reason for panic in the postseason. The NBA structures its playoffs with best-of-seven series for a reason, so no matter how ugly or underwhelming or disheartening, one loss in isolation is never truly a disaster—especially when the losing team is already up 3-0 in the series, and potentially not as engaged in completing the sweep in Game 4. So the Denver Nuggets shouldn't be concerned because the Los Angeles Lakers finally beat them in one game, avoiding another sweep with a home win on Saturday night. Even the most lopsided rivalry in the modern NBA will produce an upset on occasion, and the Nuggets should still advance to the conference semifinals this week without breaking much more of a sweat. But the Nuggets should be concerned because of the larger nature of their series against the Lakers, which has revealed problematic cracks in their title defense. The reigning champs...