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Denver Nuggets banking on another NBA championship run this season

Three basketball players, two in Denver are under the hoop.
Jack Dempsey
/
AP
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reaches for a rebound next to Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo during the second half of Game 1 of basketball's NBA Finals, Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Denver.

The Denver Nuggets are keeping things interesting this season despite losing All-Star Nikola Jokic and other key players to injuries.

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The team continues to put up a good fight in the Western Conference, where they are among the top teams as the All-Star break approaches.

Denver is hoping that Jokic will return before or after the break to help lead the Nuggets on another NBA title run.

Nuggets' longtime radio broadcaster Jason Kosmicki told KUNC's Michael Lyle that their chemistry and how well they have worked together as a cohesive unit are a couple of reasons for their success so far.

"I think they do 95% of their stuff on the practice floor and shootarounds, but then, the other 5% during games eventually just comes down to talent," he said. "The formula for the Nuggets is basically try and find a way to get to the 4th quarter and then out execute and out luck the other opponent."

A notable stat is that the Nuggets have played well away from Ball Arena, where they boast a 19-7 record.

Kosmicki said that the two teams currently in front of the Nuggets in the Western Conference — the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio — are beatable and shouldn't pose much of a threat to Denver's chances of bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy back to the Mile High City.

"I'm not scared of either one of those two teams," he said. "I think the Denver Nuggets, when healthy, are the best team in the NBA, and I have to believe that. They have the best player (Jokic), and they finally have depth. Once they get healthy, hopefully they find their stride at the right time."

Denver continues their homestand this weekend with games against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and against Oklahoma City on Sunday.

I serve as the host for KUNC's Morning Edition. My job is to keep our listeners across Northern Colorado informed on the day’s top stories from around the communities we serve. On occasion, I switch roles and hit the streets of northern Colorado digging up human interest stories or covering a major event that’s taking place in our listening area.