2006 Denver Nuggets: A 3rd Straight Playoff Trip

After pulling a historic upset in 1994—the first 8-seed to win a playoff series—the Nuggets fell on hard times. They missed the postseason eight straight years, from 1996 through 2003. George Karl took over the team and got them back into the playoffs in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 Denver Nuggets team continued the pattern, returning to the postseason and establishing themselves as a playoff perennial in the West.

A potent offense led by Carmelo Anthony was the key. Melo knocked down 27ppg and Denver ranked fifth in the NBA for offensive efficiency. Point guard Andre Miller chipped in 14ppg and was a skilled floor leader, handing out eight assists a night. Marcus Camby was a force in the low post, averaging 13 points/12 rebounds. Kenyon Martin provided more help down low, with a 13/6 per-game average. Earl Boykins and Ruben Patterson were two more double-digit scorers.

The Nugget defense wasn’t particularly good, and they started slow. An opening loss to defending champion San Antonio was no shame, nor were defeats to good teams in Detroit (the eventual 1-seed in the East), Cleveland (with a young LeBron James) and Dallas (the eventual champ of the West). And there were some good wins—knocking off the eventual NBA champ in Miami and a good playoff team in the Los Angeles Clippers.

But Denver also lost twice to a more mediocre playoff team in the L.A. Lakers and were inconsistent generally. By the end of the calendar year, Denver was 14-17 and 10^th in the Western Conference.

January brought better times. It was a triple-overtime win over Phoenix, who was on their way to the 2-seed in the West that got it started. The Nuggets went on to beat Cleveland and came up with an 89-85 win over San Antonio. By the end of the month, they were up to 25-22 and seventh in the West. Even better, Denver led what was a weak Northwest Division by two games over Minnesota. Under the format of the time, the division champions in each conference were given the top three seeds in the playoffs.

February was up and down. There were some great highs, with home wins over Dallas and Detroit. But play overall was middling, and the Nuggets were still at 30-27 when March arrived. Minnesota faded, and now Utah was the prime challenger for the division title, two games back.

Playing the weaker Eastern Conference, Denver surged in March. They won five of six on the road and blew open the division. The Nuggets also got another win against the Spurs. Denver’s record soared to a high of 41-32 before they mostly mailed in the stretch drive and finished 44-38.

It was as costly slump. While winning the Northwest got the Nuggets the 3-seed, the NBA also had a rule that the team with the better record still had homecourt advantage. Thus, while the Clippers were the 6-seed on the bracket, their 47-35 record meant they would have homecourt in the first-round matchup with Denver.

Miller was ready to go in Game 1, scoring 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The problem was that while Melo got 25 of his own, it came at the cost of 9-for-26 from the floor. As a team, the Nuggets shot 39 percent. They were down by ten after three quarters and rallied late. But they came up short, 89-87.

The Nuggets continued to shoot poorly in Game 2 and dug themselves a 32-13 hole after the first quarter, en route to a 98-87 loss. They went back home with their backs getting close to the wall.

Melo continued to struggle on his home floor, only going 6-for-17 in Game 3. But defensive effort makes up for a lot. The Nuggets forced 25 turnovers, held the Clips to 38 percent shooting and got a 94-87 win. They were still alive.

But Melo couldn’t get it going, only making five of his 17 shots in Game 4. This time, there was nothing to pick up the slack. A 100-86 loss rendered this series all but over. Back in Los Angeles, the Nuggets allowed 50 percent shooting, Melo only went 8-for-24, and a 101-83 rout ended the season.

Denver might be established as a playoff perennial, but they had now reached the point where losing in the first round was getting old. There was no break in either trend for the next two years—immediate exits in 2007 and 2008. But in 2009, the Nuggets finally broke through and made the Western Conference Finals.