My Favorite Huge Loss of the Season

I tried to be disappointed. I really did. Every time I refreshed the page and saw that Portland had pulled away a little further, my first reaction was to try to act mad. I just couldn't do it. My mind kept going back to that Dallas/Houston score and I couldn't help but smile.

In a season that began with most NBA "experts" picking the Nuggets to be on the outside looking in at the playoffs, they managed instead to secure the second seed in the West and home-court advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Nobody believed it could happen. Nobody believed Nene or K-Mart could stay healthy. Nobody believed Chris Andersen could be an effective player off the bench after serving a mysterious two-year suspension. Nobody thought Melo could forget about his numbers and focus on the wins. Now the Nuggets will have to take it a couple steps further and get to the place that very few people believe is possible: The Western Conference Finals and a chance to play for an NBA Championship. (Not to mention the chance for me to collect on the ridiculous 40-1 odds I received on the Nuggets winning the Championship in Vegas just two weeks ago.)

Sure there's a lot that still has to happen in order for the Nuggets to reach that level, but if Dirk can throw down a 30-15 the same night Jason Kidd notches his second triple-double of the season to help the Nuggets secure the second seed, then I believe a nice playoff run for them is not all that far fetched.

Though before we get into too much prognostication and anxiety over the possibilities that lay ahead in the post-season, I think it's time to look back on the first season since Melo came into the League that the Nuggets could arguably be considered overachievers.

Thanks for a great ride this season and I'm looking forward to another month or two of watching the Nuggets prove the "experts" wrong.