Radio host sends doubtful message about Boston Celtics, believes Nuggets will be kryptonite

Colin Cowherd is still not sold on the Boston Celtics winning the NBA championship come June, citing the Denver Nuggets as the likeliest force to stop them from hanging what has been an extremely elusive 18th Banner up until this point.

“Time for another edition of Colin is completely honest about the Boston Celtics and people get mad at him,” Cowherd said on March 21 (h/t NESN). “I think Boston is a very good team. They don’t match up with Denver. Denver has the best closer, in my opinion, in all of basketball in (Nikola) Jokic. That’s the guy I want with the ball with a minute left. Jamal Murray’s clutch stats are among the best in the league. They’re 2-0 against the Celtics and top five in the NBA in fourth-quarter differential. Boston, like last night, can be messy, tight and iso-ball late. It won’t matter until the Finals because Boston is really good.”

Denver has the one thing no other team in the league has: a one-man wrecking crew who doesn't need another top-75 teammate to win it all named Nikola Jokic. Of any team in the league, no one player is built to exploit the Cs in the paint and decimate them by finding the open man on the perimeter quite like "The Joker."

But not everyone is convinced the Nuggets don't have another top player, and some would even prefer Denver's second option to anyone on the Celtics in clutch-time...

Analyst prefers Jamal Murray to anyone on Boston Celtics in the clutch

CBS Sports' Brad Botkin admitted that he prefers handing the ball to Jamal Murray over anyone on the Celtics in the clutch.

"Jamal Murray is one of the most reliable clutch performers and toughest individual shot makers in the league," Botkin prefaced before saying, "If you're asking me to put my money on Murray or Jayson Tatum, or any other Celtics player for that matter, to make big shots down the stretch of big games, it's not even a debate. It's Murray."

In truth, Murray's value is directly tied to Jokic being able to get him open -- so the former Kentucky star may be the most preferable clutch option behind the former two-time MVP in a series against Boston.

But the Celtics starting lineup is far more talented than the Nuggets' and Boston is in a more favorable position having not won it all the year prior.

It's tough to repeat in any year, but when potentially facing a historically dominant team like the Cs, it's even tougher.