The Nuggets have a chance at the 8th seed. But the West is insanely loaded with talented teams. And the reality is that the Nuggets are the same team as last year with Millsap swapped for Gallinari. Two players with nearly identical stats. Millsap will get a few more rebounds and brings a tougher attitude on defense. But can he bring the ten more wins it may take to get into the playoffs this season?

The depressing news for the Nuggets is a front office that has tied its hands financially for the foreseeable future - and will have more young players hitting free agency for the first time in the next couple seasons, most notably Jokic and Murray. That is why $30/year million for Millsap, $14 million for Plumlee and $18 million for Harris were ill thought out moves.