Bo Nix’s ankle. Aaron Gordon’s calf. Nathan MacKinnon’s knee. Every time a Front Range team has looked about ready to lift a championship trophy, a key player suddenly couldn’t lift one of their arms.

Murray is Nikola Jokic’s first teammate to make an All-NBA team alongside the three-time MVP center.

The Saga of Cale Makar over the past four or five days has already turned the kids on the Grading The Week (GTW) staff into a bit of an emotional wreck going into the holiday weekend. But the peeks we’ve taken over to the NBA’s Western Conference Finals have only made our collective ulcers worse.

They both make sense as win-now pieces for teams looking to take an immediate next step toward contention. They probably don’t make sense for most teams residing at the bottom of the league.

Breaking down an uncertain moment for Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets after a disaster in the NBA playoffs.

Are the Timberwolves at as much of a crossroads as the Nuggets? Will the East be the better overall conference next season? Five thoughts on what’s happening around the NBA.