Denver Nuggets enter playoffs healthy for first time since Western Conference Finals appearance

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Not since Jamal Murray was dropping 50 points on the Utah Jazz back in the NBA's bubble in 2020 have the Denver Nuggets entered the playoffs as healthy as they are now.

Murray missed the team's last two trips to the postseason after tearing up his left knee on April 12, 2021, and back surgery kept Michael Porter Jr. out of last year's playoffs, as well.

Without two-thirds of Denver's star power on the bench, Nikola Jokic shouldered the Nuggets' playoff fortunes in 2021 and '22, and that burden proved too heavy even for a two-time NBA MVP.

He did lead the Nuggets past Portland in the opening round two years ago with a starting lineup that included Austin Rivers and Facundo Campazzo. But that was followed by a four-game loss to Phoenix in the second round and a first-round exit last year when Denver lost to the championship-bound Golden State Warriors.

NIKOLA JOKIC IS 'TURNED OFF' BY 'NASTY' MVP DEBATE, NUGGETS COACH MICHAEL MALONE SAYS

Those truncated playoff runs are a big source of doubt for national pundits and prognosticators who aren't giving the Nuggets much of a chance to reach their first NBA Finals despite earning the top seed in the West for the first time.

Another reason is their underwhelming play since February as they won just nine of their final 20 games, slogging through the homestretch to finish with 53 wins, 11 fewer that the Suns won a year ago as the top seed in the Western Conference.

Some of that can be blamed on the Nuggets navigating unchartered waters after surging to the top of the conference standings well before Christmas and building a big lead over second-place Memphis heading into March.

Coach Michael Malone