Talk about a rockfight of a series. The Oklahoma City Thunder won a tough seven-game series over the Denver Nuggets, who forced the Thunder to grow up right before our eyes.
Here are five takeaways from the Thunder’s second-round series against the Nuggets.
Takeaways from Thunder-Nuggets Series
The Battle Of The MVPs
Mark Daigneault and David Adelman’s defensive schemes were fantastic, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic struggled earlier in the series.
Both players adjusted and settled in against these aggressive defensive schemes in the latter parts of the series.
Gilgeous-Alexander would have the final say in this series, with an MVP statement in the Thunder’s Game 7 win.
In seven games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 29.7 points, 6.6 assists (2.0 turnovers), and 6.4 rebounds on a 62.8 true-shooting percentage in 37.6 minutes per game while being a plus-minus of +69.
In seven games, Jokic averaged 28.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists (4.4 turnovers) on a 59.2 true-shooting percentage in 40.4 minutes per game while being a plus-minus of -40.
Oklahoma City’s Depth Shows Up
One of the primary keys heading into the series was the Thunder’s ability to take advantage of their depth.
This series magnified that difference in depth between the Thunder and the Nuggets.
The Thunder’s depth advantage played a significant factor in this series, as their depth allowed them to rely on multiple players and weather individual struggles. At the same time, the Nuggets didn’t have the same luxuries.
The Nugget’s lack of depth left them with fewer options as the series went on, ultimately wearing them down.
In the series, the Thunder’s bench averaged 34 points per game, with Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Jaylin Williams having a significant impact on the outcome of the series, while the Nuggets bench averaged 24.8 points per game.
Closing Out Games
Early in the series, the Thunder’s inexperience showed, which cost them games 1 and 3.
The offense down the stretch was way too stagnant, with no ball movement; OKC shot 2/14 in the final 6 minutes of the 4thRough SGA shooting night, forced the issue in crunch time — shot 1/8 in the 4thHere’s OKC’s offensive execution in crunch timeOKC has to be better in the clutch to advance
From missed free throws, lack of ball movement, and late-game execution in clutch time to Mark Daigneault’s late-game mismanagement.
Daigneault and the Thunder learned from their failures and showed growth, winning close games—4 and 5.
After struggling in the clutch earlier in the seriesWe’re witnessing the growth of OKC right before our eyesThe Thunder's 4th quarter & late-game execution was perfect in Game 5 — making 7 straight FGs in the clutch
Daigneault pushed all the right buttons with rotations, personnel changes in key moments, defensive schemes on Jokic, and offensive actions, including attacking the zone in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder passed the ultimate playoff testing, closing out the Nuggets in a dominant 125-93 Game 7 win.
Three-Point Shooting
The three-point shooting struggle continues, and it has been an issue since last year’s second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Thunder’s lack of shooting was glaring outside of Game 2, in which they shot 16/36 from three. In six out of seven games, the Thunder shot 69/227 (30.3 percent) from three.
Here’s this Thunder’s group offensive rating and three-point shooting in every playoff series:
109.6 ORTG vs New Orleans Pelicans —38.7 percent from three
111.8 ORTG vs Dallas Mavericks — 33.5 percent from three
117.4 ORTG vs Memphis Grizzlies — 31.3 percent
from three
113.8 ORTG vs Denver Nuggets — 32.3 percent
from three
Despite the three-point struggles against the Nuggets, the Thunder again found ways to win without it. However, the Thunder must be more efficient from three in the Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
What’s Next For Denver
It’s been a whirlwind of a season for the Nuggets.
After the shocking decision to let go of Michael Malone with three games remaining in the regular season and moving on from General Manager Calvin Booth. Many questioned the direction of this team.
Well, the Nuggets beat a tough and deep Clippers team in seven games while taking a 68-win Thunder team to seven games in the second round, proving this team is not far from being back in championship contention.
That said, the Nuggets have a few things to do in the offseason.
Replacing Calvin Booth should be a top priority.
The coaching situation? David Adelman did a tremendous job guiding the Nuggets in the playoffs and should be the favorite to be the head coach for this team moving forward.
The roster construction and adding more depth pieces around Jokic. This series showed that the Nuggets lacked depth, ultimately their downfall over the last two post-seasons.
Given how expensive the roster currently is, adding more depth around Jokic presents its own set of challenges.
It’s crucial for Denver not to waste the prime of the current best player in the NBA, and many eyes will be on the Nuggets to see how they navigate the offseason.
Main Image: Â Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
