Klee's Corner: Nikola Jokic, 'The Big Moses,' will deliver long-suffering Nuggets fans to promised land

Apr. 15—This is new for Nuggets fans. This is different.

I hope this NBA postseason goes well for you diehards. Lord knows you deserve a break.

But this is all new. Their team's rags-to-riches story is old news. They're not the trendy cult favorite anymore. They're not the lovable family that cooked up an NBA title contender from scratch. Even big sweetie Nikola Jokic took some shots in the MVP banter. Can you imagine?

Now the Nuggets are the No. 1 seed, a first, with Game 1 vs. Minnesota Sunday at Ball Arena. Nobody except the No. 1 seed ever likes the No. 1 seed. Ask the Patriots, Duke, Dodgers or Valor Christian. The haters prefer if the 1 seed fails. The haters love the "Over-rated" chant, which is silly, since chanting "Over-rated" at the team you beat diminishes your team's win.

Anyway, pray for your favorite Nuggets fan at Sunday service. None have carried the burden of expectations and homecourt advantage until the Finals. Their "Final Destination" complex will be in overdrive for the next however-many-weeks. Tradition states Nuggets fans never know how it's going to end, but they have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be painful.

Always.

Pain is what Nuggets fans know best.

Basic in-bounds passes will be stolen, like in 2009. A dynasty will emerge from nowhere, like Steph Curry's Warriors in 2013. Shoot, in 2010, with a really good 3 seed that won 53 games, the coach got actual cancer. Thank goodness George Karl is ornery enough to beat it.

You can dismiss the Nuggets curse as an alibi, and that's proof you didn't live through Antonio McDyess' knees, Raef LaFrentz over Paul Pierce, or never drawing the No. 1 pick in the draft — even in 1997-98 when they lost 71 games and won only 11. McNichols Arena in 1998 hosted Janet Jackson, Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears and one of the worst teams in NBA history.

The Nuggets' reward was drafting third.

Then-Nuggets coach Bill Hanzlik told me: "The whole thing was just set up for failure."

Nuggets fans are conditioned for gut punches. They landed a league MVP for the first time, then a second time... and couldn't watch him on Colorado's top cable TV provider. Yep, that fits.

What Jokic represents is more than the NBA's best player and a humble antidote to a pro sports scene that's increasingly thin on role models. Joker's the salt bath. He's a Serbian prophet, the Big Moses. His beloved horses might as well be the donkey he rode in on.

The other day I saw a photo of Jokic with Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon. Great photo, poor analogy. Jokic is John Elway for Nuggets fans. The Big Moses is hope it can happen here.

The Rockies have been to more championship series (1) than the Nuggets (0), if that tells you how it's been for diehards. Good news is, all the scar tissue resides with fans, not the players.

The Nuggets themselves don't know the painful history. Please don't tell them. Don't mention the shanks to a golfer and ignore the pitcher with a no-hitter going. And definitely don't mention that time Alex English broke a thumb in the Western Conference finals vs. the Lakers.

It's always the stupid Lakers.

Except this time it's not the Lakers. It's the Timberwolves first, and how about that? Old friend and Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who drafted Jokic and remains extended family to Joker's family. T-Wolves coach Chris Finch, the associate head coach to Michael Malone in 2016-17. Think the T-Wolves will craft a proper game-plan?

The Timberwolves have advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once — in 2004, when they beat the Nuggets. See what I mean?

Is this the Nuggets team that snaps the curse and breaks through to the NBA Finals? Wish I could tell you. My friends who are diehards don't know what to do with their hands. But I think so. The Nuggets will beat the T-Wolves, Suns and the surprising Kings en route to the Finals. Best starting 5 in the West, and Jokic and Jamal Murray ascend in the postseason. The champion will come from the East.

This is when the Nuggets curse is lifted.