A full day has gone by, and the NBA world is still shaken up by what happened in the regular season finale between the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs. The lead-up was already bizarre, with Denver seemingly having a hard time deciding whether they wanted to prioritize rest and health, or seeding and a path to a title.
On the final day of the season, the Nuggets had the opportunity to win and clinch the 3-seed, or rest everyone against a Spurs team that was going for it, and fall to the 4-seed — and a more favorable first-round matchup with the Rockets, as opposed to the Timberwolves.
David Adelman and his staff smartly chose to prioritize rest and health, as they’ve been preaching all season long. Things couldn’t have worked out better, as it seemed that calling off the dogs would also set them up with a better matchup in round one, and a chance to play the Thunder with a fresher and healthier team.
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Denver’s angle here was straightforward: “Let’s face OKC with the freshest legs we can possibly have.” It made some sense. Beat a lesser Houston team (than Minnesota), then give it your best shot versus OKC. And you know you can out-execute San Antonio in close games if you get to the Western Conference Finals.
Instead, the Spurs choked.
The Nuggets, playing without their top eight players — outside of Nikola Jokić playing the first half to reach the 65-game mark — pulled out the win, completely messing up everyone’s plans. Based on the team’s actions, it sure seems like they wanted to avoid the Timberwolves in round one, but backed into the 3-seed anyway.
For the Spurs, this is even worse. They sat Victor Wembanyama but played most of the rest of their rotation, clearly looking to win. That was vital because it would have pushed the Nuggets to the other side of the bracket, ensuring Denver would face OKC in round two, and the Spurs would likely coast to the conference finals, only having to face one of the other main title contenders in the West.
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But by losing, San Antonio will now need to face the Nuggets in round two and the Thunder in round three. OKC should be on cruise control until the Western Conference Finals and should be fresh and well-rested for whoever comes out of a possible Denver/San Antonio bloodbath.
“If San Antonio loses to Denver in round two, this will go down as one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen an NBA team do,” said analyst Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT), reacting to the Spurs’ decision to sit Wembanyama.
For the Nuggets, the spin zone is simple. You won the game. You got the better seed. Sure, the Rockets matchup seems better than the Wolves, but who knows? When teams try to game the system for seeding, it doesn’t often work out, so perhaps the basketball gods will reward the Nuggets for going out and winning the game, even if it didn’t seem like the best move at the time.
David Adelman tried to claim after the game that his team wasn’t ducking anyone, but actions speak louder than words. We all know what the intent was, even if the final result didn’t end up that way.
The other good news for Denver is that, according to NBA history, being a top-three seed is a big deal. The only teams to win a title with a worse seed were the 1994-95 Rockets, who were a 6-seed, and the 1968-69 Celtics, who were a 4-seed. At least now, the Nuggets have history on their side, and won’t have to become an all-time outlier.
One night, two franchises, and a playoff bracket that just got turned upside down. The NBA world is still trying to process it — and the real drama is only just beginning.