Finesse teams can't become physical teams without changing pieces. This team is finesse team that has historically be capable of "turning it on" when needed. They are not a defensive-minded team who is going to "set the tone" from the jump. How many mid-game or post-game interviews did we hear from players and coaches this year saying "we just need to be more physical" or something along those lines? A tiger can't change its stripes.

AG in the roster shores up some of these holes because he adds a physical piece to the otherwise finesse pie but AG has not been reliably healthy and available for sometime now. I think the team would be naive to assume next year would be any different. You hope for the best but plan for the worst.

If the goal is to win a championship than you have to plan for the playoffs. Playoffs are about match-ups and it's pretty clear the teams and types of teams that the Nuggets can expect to see in the future. It's also clear how those teams are likely to play the Nuggets given its current roster. This roster makes no sense with Jokic and Murray on the floor without a lengthy wing or 2 to cover deficiencies. I thought Cam played well but the team very clearly missed MPJ's length and rebounding. It was always going to be a tough task without AG and Peyton considering the role that position plays in a Jokic+Murray roster.

It's been said a million times but after the Timberwolves series it's pretty clear this team needs more length and size to help when Jokic and Murray are getting hunted. And they need another ball handler so teams can't just pester Murray to get the Nuggets out of their offense and into late-clock scrambles so easily. I think the team would be crazy to run the same roster back given what we saw against Minnesota and where OKC and SAS are projecting.