“The next step is to be a dynasty,” proclaimed the Denver Nuggets coach, Michael Malone, right after winning the ring in the Finals against the Heat. Just because of the talent and the prime years that they still have left Nikola Jokic (28 years old) and Jamal Murray (26) make it worth trying.
However, in today’s NBA and its increasingly pronounced equality, there is less and less room for dynasties. To the point that the reigning championin something that has already been consolidated as a trend in the last five years, not only has in recent times not repeated the title the following year, but far away, very far.
Jokic and Murray, the best couple in the NBA
getty images
The Nuggets will try to break the strict rule that has been followed religiously since 2019, that the defending champion does not even make it past the Conference Semifinals the following year.
Los Golden State Warriorsthose who have the privilege of having been a dynasty in this panorama of growing equality and still are, are the last ones who were able to repeat the ring with the consecutive wins of 2017 and 2018. The last champion who was able to defend the title in a dignified manner with the 2019 Finals lost to the Toronto Raptors Despite the pain of defeat and the serious injury of Klay Thompson to give way to a certain period of journey in the desert, with two years without playoffs.
The Canadian team was the first victim of what has become a curse. After flooding Toronto with madness in 2019 with the first ring in history, the then team of Marc Gasol y Serge Ibaka like some of the painting leaders, they fell in the Conference Semifinals in the 2019-2020 season in a close seven-game tie against the Celtics.
The last champions
1
Toronto Raptors – 2019
2
Los Angeles Lakers – 2020
3
Milwaukee Bucks – 2021
4
Golden State Warriors – 2022
5
Denver Nuggets – 2023
Curiously, the middle of the Gasols would witness the same phenomenon the following year with the Lakers, who largely repaid their disdain for Marc since the middle of the season, falling in the first round against the Phoenix Suns to six meetings.
Those in purple and gold brought in mid-campaign Andre Drummond to replace the Catalan center, who lost ownership. Frank Vogel He gave it to them in Game 6, but it was too late and in 2021 the Lakers signed a very poor defense of the ring conquered in 2020. It was a certain turning point for Marc Gasol, who decided to return home with the consequent culmination of his project in Girona with promotion to ACB.
Marc Gasol, against Ayton under the gaze of LeBron in the 2021 tie against the Suns
AP
The turning point, on the other hand, was not so positive for the Lakers, who would live a year and a half of emptiness conditioned by the arrival of Russell Westbrook and his toxic contract. With LeBron throwing hints at Rob Pelinka, who has been able to clean up the mess in the last 6 months with formidable management to shape probably the most complete roster in the NBA this season. The Suns almost completed the journey, but the Bucks came back from 2-0 down in the Finals to put on the ring in 2021.
But the following season, Giannis Antetokounmpo He failed in what another double MVP like Nikola Jokic is going to try this season that starts this next week. The Bucks, ecstatic to bring the second ring in history to Milwaukee just 50 years later, They fell in an intense Conference Semifinals in 7 games against the Celtics.
Milwaukee accused the loss of Chris Middleton But that displeasure would have nothing to do with the unmitigated failure of last season, with the Bucks falling in the first round against the worst team in the East, the Heat, when they had been the best team in the regular season. Despite Antetokounmpo’s resistance to accepting failure, the Greek gave the Bucks an ultimatum this summer by postponing the renewal of his contract, with the immediate and shocking reaction that has meant putting Damian Lillard next to the Greek Freak.
The Warriors expanded their legacy with the fourth ring of the dynasty in 2022, despite which they were also victims of the curse. The whole of Bahía, conditioned by the wardrobe crisis generated by the conflict between Draymond Green y Jordan Poole, He was painfully eliminated by the Lakers in the Conference Semifinals last year (4-2). The performance of both made the San Francisco organization see that they had to choose between Green and Poole and stay with the bustling interior.
Now, the Nuggets’ turn, new to defending their title after winning the first title in their history, but ready to break not only the barrier of the Conference Semifinals, but also the statistic of a champion without repeating the title in the last five years. Nikola Jokic, against the damn narrative.
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2023-10-22 05:52:09
#curse #threatens #Jokic #attempt #dynasty
