2025 West Semifinals: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. (4) Denver Nuggets

OKC is not a championship team right now…too many guys shrinking

this series is like a replay of last year against Dallas

 

On that review, wasn't that a double dribble by Jokic?

 

Jokic 0/2 from the line in crunch time down 4 with 3 minutes left.

Uh oh - Denver need to trade him asap!

 

Their entire team is gassed. I saw this coming. OKC has been much fresher in the 4th quarter.

 

Imagine running a single play without letting Jokic touch it down the stretch.

My goodness Denver.

 

If any players are shrinking it’s on the Nuggets side.

 

On one hand, didn’t really “deserve” to win with how poorly they shot. 1st/4th Q ice cold.
On the other hand, they did make a come back and a blown opportunity to go up 3-1.


Nuggets running a 6-man rotation
Thunder playing 9 guys.

 

MPJ with that shoulder injury is a killer. 1/7 off mostly wide open looks. Braun has been terrible offensively most of the series. Mid 30% FG. Jokic fell apart too. Those missed FTs sunk their chances. OKC is winning the next one for sure. I can see them winning in 6, if not 7 now.

 

Ugly series, want it to be over with.

 

Nuggets missing spark off the bench who’s reliable.

 

I don't think they even need a missing spark, they just need another one or two playable guys off the bench.

In game 3, Nuggets starters all played 42+ mins each while Westbrook and Peyton Watson split 39. Game was grueling, high intensity basketball that went into OT. It was also played a mile high.
In game 4, Nuggets basically played 6 guys.

By contrast, OKC played 9 guys in each game.

Game 4 began ~36 hours after game 3, which is especially ridiculous considering both were in Denver! This is why the Nuggets had nothing at the start or the end of game 4. The scheduling idiocy made OKC's depth a lethal advantage and basically gave them game 4. They outscored the Nuggets 46-26 in the two bookend quarters.

I'm OK with either team but would prefer the Nuggets to advance because they are probably better capable of winning two more series.

 

That is a contradiction in itself, they are not winning 2 more series with their shallow bench rotation.

I now back the Pacers to win it all or at least make the Finals......if the Thunder cannot find their shooting groove.

 

The Nuggets has the most shallow bench among the remaining playoffs teams. They rely heavily on the 5 starters, and one of them (MPJ) is not 100% healthy. Westbrook is the only bench guy that can do something. And we all know how unreliable Russ is.

If Murray gets hot, they have a chance. If he doesn't, OKC can totally committed to stopping Jokic and they have no recourse.

 

Rooting for Denver super hard here--OKC getting eliminated could be really beneficial. They will feel forced to make big changes, which may shake loose some of their young talent for us to scoop up (so many guys on their roster who would be nice fits here), or it may push them to make a big trade that will tank their future flexibility and limit their window (i.e. Giannis).

 

Not only do the Nuggets have a shallow bench, OKC has the deepest bench, which is the only reason they won game 4 after the stupidly short break after game 3.

IMO, if the Nuggets get past OKC, they have a good shot at another championship. But with Jokic running on fumes, they are probably cooked and done in 6.

 

Nuggets bricking picking up where they left off.

 

All these Thunder fans wearing their shirts and the seats are all filled. Helps to be the only attraction in the entire state.

 

Is Jokic going through his Hakeem arc right now?