NBA Power Rankings: Nuggets & Thunder BEST IN WEST, who is Celtics top challenger? | Hoops Tonight

Jason Timpf continues his NBA power rankings with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. Jason discusses why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and OKC are ready to make their NBA Finals push after an offseason in which they added Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Later, Jason breaks down whether Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Denver will avenge last season's playoff failure and return to championship status.

Timeline:
00:00 - Introduction
01:45 - #3: Oklahoma City Thunder
23:48 - #2: Denver Nuggets

Follow Jason Timpf on social:

Follow us on social media:

Learn more about the Volume:

#nba #nuggets #thunder #denvernuggets #oklahomacitythunder #okcthunder #okc #nikolajokic #sga #shaigilgeousalexander #chetholmgren #jamalmurray #nbaplayoffs #nbafinals #nbabasketball #nbahighlights #basketball #sports

[tompratt]

Nuggets fan here that thinks you've got Denver ranked too high, Jason. I understand the Nuggets have shown their core can win a championship in dominant fashion and they have the best player in the league. I don't take the losses of Bruce Brown and KCP to be as serious a setback as a lot of national analysts seem to think it is. My hesitation comes from a concern for Jamal Murray's health. He's just always banged up. I think the Nuggets 'window' opened in 2020 and is still open. But Murray's injuries cost the Nuggets legitimate chances to win a chip in 2021, 2022 and last postseason. When he's right he's fire in the playoffs, He just can't seem to stay healthy.

[Aaron-oozt]

Damn Jason is the only one not sleeping on Denver

[OnlyHoops]

I like it better when everyone is sleeping on the Nuggets .. you can tell Jason is smart cuz he can see the forest thru the trees and is not effected by group think

[tammydj]

Awesome rev on both okc and nuggets. Much appreciated. If it's an okc v nugs on the ECF this coming season. I'm gonna be watching it!

[KHM]

I’m surprised that Denver is above Oklahoma City. They’re deeper, younger, have more skill and versatility than Denver. Also, from the Olympics and playoffs Murray had a rough stretch. I guess I can see why he gives them a bump with Jokic, but I personally I don’t think they’re one of the 2-3 best teams in the west coming into the year. At some point they’re gonna need more floor spacing and defensive versatility.

[Upticks-vu]

If OKC doesn’t win 60 games, they are underperforming in the regular season imo. Nug fan here. They are built to roll the regular season, and could roll the postseason depending on matchups

[JohnJohn-nrsb]

Every time I hear about Caruso it makes me sick the Lakers let him go along with KCP 🥲

[cmac]

OKC has passed the Nuggets. Caruso & Hartenstein are fantastic additions. Losing KCP hurts with nothing in return.

[Beeeep]

I want what Jason is smoking. It’s some good stuff 😂😂

[kennymcdaniel]

OKC is head and shoulders better than Denver 💀

[demetriusbrown]

Hey Jason ( love the content ) mailbag question - could you do a list of the best role players in the nba maybe top 20/25

[donaldpratt]

Damn, naming the 6’4 perimeter defenders who are built like trucks and no mention of Jrue Holiday?

[pkvlover]

Why do other teams have 1 video each and this half. Nice

[DaveZaiger-gh]

Mailbag question: What do you think about the Warriors trading for Jonas Valincunis BTW love the show

[AMINOMMA]

Mailbag: Hey Jason, first of all long time listener and fan of the show, keep up the great work. I would argue against your placement of the Nuggets, I personally think they're the third best team in the West and not the best as you suggest. I understand the Jokic argument very well, I think he provides the most match up problems out of anyone in the league and I don't think anyone can truly stop him, even slowing him down is difficult. However, I think Denver has lost a lot of depth as compared to their championship run and more importantly I think Murray's injuries are starting to become a real issue for his level of play and I question whether he will reach the form he had in 2023 again. I also think MPJ has not been very good in his last three play-off series and am worried about the trend this shows. Additionally, I think the Nuggets lack athleticism (besides Gordon) and miss the perimeter defense needed to counter Dallas and OKC due to the loss of KCP. When comparing Dallas and OKC to Denver I think they beat Denver in perimeter offense (Luka, Ky, and Klay for Dallas, SGA, JDub, and their role players like Wallace and Wiggins, whereas Denver only really has Murray and MPJ, especially when Jokic doesn't shoot well, which causes some spacing issues, although his playmaking does make up for it a lot), perimeter defense (Dallas has three good perimeter defenders in Marshall, Grimes and Washington, OKC in Dort, Caruso, JDub, SGA, whereas the Nuggets truly only have Gordon (maybe Braun)), and rim protection (Hartenstein, Holmgren for OKC, Lively and to an extent Gafford for Dallas, whereas I think Gordon is the only good interior defender/rim protector for the Nuggets, maybe MPJ's size can provide some value there). This shows the next issue, I think Gordon will have to do too much on defense (both their best perimeter defender and their best rim protector), whereas especially OKC has plenty of players who can take the respective tasks on and Dallas is also superior in that aspect (albeit that their best perimeter defenders safe for Washington are not starters). My next issue is that it became apparent that whilst Jokic is a good defender he has very apparent weaknesses, namely speed, perimeter defense, and rim protection that none of the teams during the championship run were able to expose but the West is full of (players I think will cause him issues in that respect are Curry, Ant, Fox, Morant, but also someone like Zion and to some degree even Luka and Kyrie (can you imagine Luka getting a switch and Jokic dropping or trying to stay with him?)). Now Jokic compensates for that a lot in offensive value, especially since KAT has been traded and there's no team with the size that Minnesota team had, so I don't think he can be stopped. However, for their championship run having a great Murray and good contributions from players like KCP and Brown was of vital importance and I doubt they'll be able to make up for that (without a trade). I question Braun's ability to contribute offensively and whilst I think Russ is a great fit, he's not a world beater at this point in time. Also, Denver has still not addressed their need for a back up center, the minutes that Jokic is off the floor have sucked for years and playing Jokic 40+ minutes per game is a recipe for injurie and overfatigue. 😢All in all, I think the Nuggets lack in defense, perimeter offense, and depth, all of which Dallas and especially OKC has them beat in, I question Murray, MPJ, and Braun and think Jokic' defensive weaknesses are especially exploitable in the West. You might be right they have the best (or second best) chance to beat Boston out of any team in the West but imo they have the third best odds to even get out of the West. This puts them outside of your A-tier contenders category for me and right next to Dallas (although I think Dallas is slightly better) as the first contenders that need things to break right.

[jasonvu]

Mailbag:
What do you think is the minimum amount of defensive talent to win the championship in terms of good, average, and bad defenders? We saw the 2023 Nuggets win the championship with 3 average-ish defenders in Murray, MPJ, and Jokic. They had a good perimeter/guard defender in KCP and a good versatile forward defender in Gordon. We saw a similar sort of roster construction with the 2024 Mavericks, who made it to the finals with bad defender Luka, average defender Kyrie, good perimeter defender DJJ, good wing defender P.J. Washington, and good rim protector Gafford/Lively. Can you win 4 playoff rounds with a bad defender if your scheme is good enough? Or do you think that the more equal opportunity teams like the Celtics will make it so that 5 average to good defenders are a must have to win the title?

Thanks Jason, love the show as always. Keep up the good work.

[eldaikofficial]

Am I the only one who doesn't see OKC as being as dominant as projected? Especially in the West, I don't see what really makes them stand out head and shoulders above the rest of the teams. (Hot take, I know.)

[victorvic]

If you constantly bring how close okc were in game 6, vs Dallas, please also bring game 4, when only all-time shooting from Sga saved them from repeating Wolves result vs Mavs(that also questions Djj "value").
He is good defender but Sga torched us regardless in this series

[clutchbeyers]

Jason hates the Wolves, face it. He was flabbergasted when they swept the Suns

[jaydensmithjs]

How does Josh Giddy pair with Lonzo when he comes back?