After multiple COVID cases, rain delays, scheduling changes, and even the disassembling of an entire franchise midseason, it appears the unusual 2020 BGBL summer season will finally be concluding on the brink of winter. This Sunday, December 6th, the Denver Nuggets will step foot onto the blacktop at Plant Drive for Game 2 of the BGBL Finals in an attempt to defend their title against their hated rival, the Golden State Warriors, to whom they currently trail 1-0 in a Best-of-3 Series. As unpredictable as this year has been, the two teams remaining is anything but. Entering the summer, most analysts had these two teams competing for the highly coveted BGBL trophy at season's end. BGBL Vegas expert Phil Lewis may have even considered it a lock.

How We Got Here: A League History Lesson
The roots of the Nuggets-Warriors rivalry dates back to 2017, before the Nuggets franchise had even been established. The 2017 season marked the Warriors’ first in the league. Filled with offensive fire power and talent, particularly the Big 3 of Brandon Colon, Rob Burns, & Allen Brown, the newly established franchise took the league by storm, winning a BGBL title, and taking down both previous champions in their playoff run (Spurs & 76ers). The Warriors had established themselves as the team to beat.

John Mollica, who performed well enough for the 76ers in 2017 to earn Sixth Man of the Year honors, decided initiative had to be taken. He took it upon himself to challenge the confident and seemingly unstoppable Warriors franchise by establishing a franchise of his own, the Denver Nuggets. The new GM brought aboard his good friend Travis Hughes, among others, who, as a member of the Spurs, had also seen his 2017 campaign end prematurely at the hands of the Warriors.

The two franchises hogged the headlines of the 2018 season, as both remained undefeated until the ultimate showdown in the regular season finale, which the Warriors won 61-46. However, led by Finals MVP Frantz Dumas, the Nuggets bounced back to sweep the Warriors in the BGBL Finals that year and essentially take the throne. The Nuggets went on to repeat as champions in 2019, sweeping the Warriors yet again along the way. Now, the franchise is looking to be the first team to three-peat since the 76ers did it in the first three years of the league (2013-2015). Ever since the Finals loss in 2018, Rob Burns & Brandon Colon’s only mission has been to take down the Nuggets, and over the seasons, they have built their team specifically for that purpose.

Building a Championship Team
Despite entering the 2020 draft without a 1st round pick, the Warriors, returning for the 2020 season with their core of Brandon Colon & Rob Burns, were able to accumulate a significant amount of talent, not without controversy of course. While engaging in extracurricular activities on his way back from Los Angeles, GM Brandon Colon conferenced in the commissioner’s office to make an official trade with fellow GM Christian Janeski of the Lakers in order to move up to the #3 overall spot in the draft. Many around the league questioned why commissioner Mike McClure allowed this trade to process despite heavy support from board members to veto. Some assumed McClure was over serving himself tequila shots at Copper Blue’s when he made the decision. McClure did admit to the over serving of tequila shots, but went on to clarify this occurred months after he made the decision to not veto.

Regardless, Golden State utilized the #3 pick to lock in Brandon Stevens (a.k.a. “Milk”), a man whose scoring average is only exceeded by his shooting range. Throughout the season, Milk has proven his worth as the #3 overall pick by the amount of 3’s he has hit himself. Only Trevor Gilson (26 3’s) has made more 3’s than Milk (19 3’s) this season, and the long-range sharp shooter has established himself as the Warriors’ leading scorer. Excluding his rookie debut where he was held to 1 point, which was clearly an outlier, Milk is averaging over 20 points per game this season. Colon & Burns also brought in veteran big man James Cruise, hustle player Phil Lewis, & three-point specialists Brad Emery (a.k.a “”Active Shooter”), Joe Nelsen, & ageless wonder Brian Becker. This 2020 Warriors team has appeared as unstoppable as ever this season, with all 5 of their regular season victories coming by at least 9 points, good enough to lead the league in point differential. This Warriors team may be the two-time champions’ toughest challenge yet.

Nuggets GM John Mollica had to make a decent amount of moves himself on 2020 draft day, having to give up picks in order to bring back Michael Chiste, who was initially drafted by the Blazers. The law student also added a rookie recruit in Tommy Pustizzi, who has turned into one of the most underrated players in the league. As a pass-first playmaker, he fits perfectly into the culture Mollica has created in Denver. Additionally, Matt Gefrard (a.k.a. Lit Kid) has also unexpectedly fit right into the locker room and embraced his role. Denver’s core has returned for the 3-peat run of course, as well. Frantz Dumas, who has been referred to by fellow All-Star Scott Scala as the ‘GOAT’, is having an MVP-type season leading his team to the #1 overall seed. Travis Hughes, Brandon Kemmerrer (a.ka. the Mountain), & Cam Simione have also returned, hungry for their third title together.

The funny thing about this Nuggets team that has dominated the league over the past two years is, despite their dominance, it’s a hard team to hate (unless you’re Burns of course). This team has been known for its chemistry and the fans they bring out to the game, including the well-known Mr. & Mrs. Simione, who are collectively up for Fan of the Year.

This year, there has been a lot of buzz around the media about this being the Nuggets’ last season together, as it has been understood around the league that the franchise will be dissolving, whether they achieve the 3-peat or not. Some would think this would cause serious distractions in the locker room, but GM John Mollica has made sure this has not been an issue. The determined law student has maintained his team’s focus on the 2020 season. No matter how it ends for this team in the Mile High City, the Nuggets will be remembered as one of the great franchises the BGBL has ever seen.

X-Factors:
Phil Lewis (Warriors)
We know Golden State’s Big 3 is going to put up numbers. Colon, Burns, & Milk each average double figures in scoring and combine to average over 20 rebounds per game. However, significant contributions from role players could prove to be the difference, specifically Phil Lewis, who they brought over from Boston this offseason. Lewis did not appear to be a factor in the regular season loss to Denver, where he went scoreless and pulled in just three boards. In the Finals, though, Phil came to play. He had a strong presence on the court that doesn’t always show in the stat sheet, but his stats were still decent. Lewis scored 4 points to go along with 6 rebounds, and was crucial in helping his team dominate the rebounding battle (40 to 18). If Lewis brings the same energy in Game 2, it will be difficult for the Nuggets to get any second chances on offense, as well as stopping the Warriors from doing so on the other end of the court.

Travis Hughes’s Offense & Frantz Dumas’s Defense (Nuggets)
The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Travis Hughes & 2019 Offensive Player of the Year Frantz Dumas have developed into the league’s most threatening backcourt duo in their three season together. Hughes has become one of the premiere lockdown defenders in the league, while Dumas has showcased a relentless ability to score on offense. It will be what these two do on their less dominant side of the court that could end up being crucial to the Nuggets’ chances. In the regular season double overtime thriller, Hughes put up his best scoring day of the season, racking up 21 points and hitting two big-time clutch threes near the end of the second overtime. In Game 1 Finals loss, Hughes scored just 6 points. Travis will need to increase his offensive output if he does not want the Nuggets to be sent packing today. Dumas, on the other hand, actually stepped up to guard Milk man-to-man in the regular season game, shutting the MVP candidate down to a relatively quiet day. Milk was still able to put up 15 points thanks to double overtime, but he was nowhere near a factor as he was in Game 1 of the Finals. Despite a windy day, the rookie hit 4 3’s and was arguably the key to victory for the Warriors. Hughes & Dumas will need to perform similarly to the regular season win if they want to take this series the distance.

Key Matchup:
Mountain vs Cruise
Many fans are heavily intrigued by this matchup between arguably the two most dominant big men in the league. It’s tough to compete with the likes of the Mountain, but Cruise was brought to Golden State specifically to do so. Burns & Colon knew they needed to switch their personnel up if they wanted to take down the defending champs, and the loss of Allen Brown was a huge sacrifice. While Milk replaced Brown’s scoring, Cruise was brought in to replace his presence down low. In Game 1, the Mountain recorded 13 point & 9 rebounds, while Cruise recorded 6 points & 9 rebounds. This battle in the paint should remain fun to watch.

All-Time Series:
Nuggets lead the all-time series 5-3. The all-time postseason series is a little more lopsided, though, as the Nuggets lead 4-1, with the sole loss coming in Game 1 of the Finals this year.

Game 2 Spread:
Warriors -5.5
Vegas has the Warriors finishing off the sweep tonight, and finally reclaiming their position on top of the league.