Question: What’s the key to the Nuggets making a deep playoff run?

Mark Kiszla, sports columnist: Aaron Gordon’s health

Watching the Nuggets play basketball is a guilty pleasure.

I love the thrill of Nikola Jokic’s magic tricks, especially when Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr. stick 3-point jumpers. But I hate the maddening lack of commitment to championship-level defense by this group.

If something doesn’t change in a big way during the playoffs, I don’t see how Denver advances to the Western Conference finals, much less gets a shot at another chip. San Antonio and Oklahoma City are simply too talented for long defensive lapses by David Adelman’s crew.

And that’s why Aaron Gordon holds the key to how far this Nuggets team can go in the playoffs. Joker is as good or better now than the player who has won three MVP trophies. Jamal Murray has finally grown into a legit All-NBA talent.

But without A.G. on the floor, the defense stinks.

While battling or managing injuries all season long, Gordon has averaged a tick under 28 minutes per game. During the team’s playoff runs of the past three seasons, Gordon was on the floor 36 minutes per game. While his touch on those corner 3’s is deadly, it’s his defense that makes Denver truly dangerous.

Can Adelman increase A.G.’s workload by 30 percent without him breaking down during a long playoff grind? Let’s hope so. With Gordon on the floor, the Nuggets can make it a challenge for Victor Wembanyama or any opponent to score.

The Nuggets, however, are one tweak of Gordon’s tight hamstrings from being in big playoff trouble.

Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets writer: Tertiary shooting

The Nuggets know what they’re getting from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. So do the Timberwolves.

This series will be decided by the shot-making abilities of Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther and potentially Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson.

Good news for Denver, Johnson, Watson and Hardaway shot better than 40% in the regular season. Jones, Gordon and Strawther just missed out on the 40% mark. Denver has seen Minnesota so frequently in the last few seasons that it’s going to be hard for Chris Finch to come up with a reasonable defensive approach that’s also foreign to Denver’s coaches. The Nuggets are also a better shooting team than they were the last time the division foes met in the playoffs. Denver shot 35.3% against Minnesota in the second-round series in 2024. This season, the Nuggets shot a league-best 39.6%.

Bad news for Denver, the stakes are higher, and each shot comes with more pressure in the playoffs. It’s been a minute since Johnson played postseason hoops. Strawther, Jones and Watson have limited experience in the biggest of moments. In those moments, Minnesota would rather most, if not all, of those players take an open 3 than let Murray and Jokic find a rhythm.

When complementary players connect, Denver’s an unstoppable offense with a real championship pedigree. If the shots don’t fall, the Nuggets’ front office will have some real soul-searching to do to determine if this current iteration has enough to bring a second championship to Denver.

It’s always a make-or-miss league but never more so than the playoffs.