Puff Piece

In case you were wondering, a “puff piece” is a news article that’s full of mostly hot air, in praise of something that’s mostly just plain ordinary. There. Glad we got that cleared up.

 

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There was a nice little puff piece on the hometown Nuggets in today’s NYT. Why waste all that column space on the NBA’s Western Conference #1 seed before they’ve even played a single playoff game? Because despite having a 52-29 record along with the league MVP for the past two years running, nobody gives them much of a chance to get to the Finals this year, let alone to win it all. I mean, c’mon: Can a team whose superstar is nicknamed “Joker” possibly be taken seriously?

There are definitely at least two better teams in the East (Boston and Milwaukee), and I’ve heard it said that there are at least 7 teams in the West – including the lowly Lakers – who might make it to the Finals, so it’s a long shot no matter what. But hey, last night I watched as the Sacramento Kings, with only the second-best player in the Sabonis family, beat their hated NorCal rivals, the Golden State Warriors, with Steph, Klay, and Draymond, in front of a crazed crowd at the Golden One Center. So, call me crazy, but I’m of the considered opinion that absolutely anything’s possible this year. And you can say you heard it here first.

If you, like me, are pulling for the pride of Sambor, Serbia to finally lead this Denver team to the Promised Land, then stay tuned. And if you, like me, aren’t fully sold on that actually happening, then stay tuned anyway. Because no matter what, this scrappy little Nuggets team is fun to watch. And the fact is, they might just surprise everybody. Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he? Game one of their first round series against the Timberwolves is tonight. Be there or be square.

 

NYT Subscribers: Here.

Everybody else: If you leave me a comment, I’ll gift you the article for free.

 

 

 

Woe be to Denver, where the Nuggets’ playoff failures – 37 chances without a championship so far – haunt the city like the ghost of a bearded cartoon miner.