he terrible game though, the Nuggets still have homecourt advantage in the series thanks to their game one win and a win tonight put’s them in the driver’s seat for the second half of the series.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (2-1) at Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2)
When: 1:30PM MDT
Where: The Can. Denver, CO.
How to watch/listen: Denver Stiffs sails only on ethical seas…in a yacht…called the S.S. Big Honey. ABC, Altitude Radio 92.5FM.
Rival blog: Thunderous Intentions
The Matchup
| Position | Nuggets | Clippers | Advantage |
| PG | Jamal Murray | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Thunder |
| SG | Christian Braun | Luguentz Dort | Even |
| SF | Michael Porter Jr. | Jalen Williams | Even |
| PF | Aaron Gordon | Chet Holmgren | Even |
| C | Nikola Jokic | Isaiah Hartenstein | Nuggets |
| Bench | Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, DeAndre Jordan, Jalen Pickett | Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace | Thunder |
Injury report: DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles); Nikola Topic – out (knee)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Relative energy levels
When the Nuggets have had the gas, they have fought all game long (and once so far this series into overtime) in order to get wins. They’ve scrapped their way back, overcome some deficits, and executed in the clutch while making the Thunder realize that the Oklahoma City squad doesn’t have the same wealth of big game experience to draw on. When Denver did not have the energy and came out a little flat they got absolutely curb-stomped in OKC. However, on back-to-backs – and this one with a Sunday afternoon start after a late-Friday finish feels like it should count – the Nuggets have been really good. The Nuggets have found more battery than expected in these tight turnarounds and will need to do it again.
OKC didn’t get any more rest than Denver. They don’t have long to find solutions to the fact that Denver is simply better in close-and-late situations, and that the sort of poor shooting game they saw from Nikola Jokic is unlikely to be repeated unless his injured elbow actually falls off (please basketball gods – don’t let it fall off). Michael Porter Jr. has to find the same level of grit and execution he had in Game 3 and not the flatline that happened to him in Game 2. Denver needs to bring their gutty intensity and love for the sorts of mud-fights that happened in Game 1 and Game 3 to this game, because a clean game for OKC where Denver turns the ball over a bunch would be a very bad recipe.
The thing to remember: Denver stopped SGA down the stretch – and they can do it again
The Thunder have a bad habit of not knowing who to go to when they absolutely must have a bucket. The simple fact is that they haven’t needed to know that – they’ve blown out so many teams this year. Jalen Williams had 32 points in the last game but he’s not the on-ball force. SGA will be forced to make the kinds of decisions he hasn’t had to perfect this year. Lu Dort is not the x factor down the stretch and if they go to Alex Caruso instead that’s not his normal role either. Denver needs to control the boards better during most of the game than they did in Game 3 but they were better down the stretch, and if MPJ can be productive enough to stay in the game late then Denver can use him or Watson on Chet and Williams. With Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun to work as pivots on both levels of the defense, the Nuggets have the size to bother OKC and did a better job of getting Murray the space to work on offense with the screen game as well.
Denver knows the drill against OKC now – it’s a matter of keeping the game close enough to grind out another victory. The Thunder may not shoot 25% from deep again, but Jokic is not going to miss another 10 threes either. The plan for Denver remains the same: rebound, limit turnovers, make open shots and keep the game in reach until they can crank up the pressure in the final minutes. The Thunder are a great team, but this is their real test. Beating the Nuggets will require greatness from OKC, and they are absolutely capable of it – but if Denver is here to teach the budding superstar squad a lesson, every single Nugget is planning for it to be one the Thunder take home with them after a May exit and can ponder over a long summer.
The thing to bet: Nikola Jokic three pointers over 1.5 (-140)
Jokic couldn’t make OKC pay for absolutely packing the paint and trying to rip his arms off during Game 3, but he knows the right play to make and I fully expect him to get the looks from three again – and to him them this time. Jokic is banged up, but everyone is. His all-world touch is not going to desert him for two games in a row. His shooting game should give Denver another path toward victory.
