This is it. The Denver Nuggets once again have a Game 7, this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder who are the top seed in the West. The Nuggets are extremely familiar with this position, having gone 7 games in the prior round against the Los Angeles Clippers and had Game 7s in the first two rounds also in 2020 and 2019. This is their seventh Game 7 since 2019 which is an astounding number and speaks to Denver’s enduring toughness as well as a stubborn streak a mile long.
The Thunder are far less experienced in these sorts of situations but are hoping to be quick learners and have the home court advantage, the depth advantage, the youth advantage from a rest perspective, the health advantage… there’s a lot going for them. The Thunder are the rightful favorites in this game with the best record in the Western Conference and a star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who can go toe-to-toe with any Nuggets for production, but the Nuggets are not going into Oklahoma City with any thoughts of ending their playoffs on Sunday. This game is not likely to be pretty, but no matter how it goes the Nuggets just hope to prevail and move on.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (3-3) at Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3)
When: 1:30PM MDT
Where: $100 bucks a paycheck to process them…Center. Oklahoma City, OK.
How to watch/listen: Denver Stiffs sails only on ethical seas…in a yacht…called the S.S. Big Honey. ABC, ESPN+, Altitude Radio 92.5FM.
Rival blog: OKC Thunder Wire
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: Aaron Gordon – questionable (hamstring), Hunter Tyson – questionable (ankle), Jamal Murray – probable (illness), Russell Westbrook – probable (hand), DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles); Nikola Topic – out (knee)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Aaron Gordon’s status
The Thunder are a very physical team. They press and hound and attack at every opportunity, which is one reason the Nuggets are out-shooting them from the free throw line in this series 170-151 when the normal Denver whistle is not that generous. The Thunder will make the Nuggets earn it from the stripe while they also force Denver to rotate and help a great deal on defense, places where Aaron Gordon is invaluable. If AG cannot fill that role due to injury then Denver loses one of its most physical players on both ends and will need huge efforts from players like Peyton Watson as well as better offensive performances than they have been getting from its shot-takers. Gordon normally helps relieve the defensive pressure hounding Murray, fights against the Thunder bigs inside in ways some less-stout Nuggets have struggled to, and is amazingly versatile on both ends with his rebounding and defense to go with the assists and easier buckets he helps Denver create.
Denver cannot be as inefficient against a Thunder squad that likes to terrorize off of missed shots and that is unlikely to shoot as poorly from deep at home as they have in Ball Arena. Aaron Gordon is Mr. Nugget for many reasons, but he really is the glue that keeps this team together and his status – and effectiveness even if he does take the floor – really does mean a tremendous amount for Denver. With or without him, the players around him will need to step up.
The thing to remember: It takes a village – even if your village is pretty small
Just a great Jokic game will not cut it. A Murray flurry will not be enough. The Nuggets won Game 6 with a great team effort to back up their two-man punch from Jokic and Murray. Whether or not Aaron Gordon can go, the Nuggets will continue to need all of the players who take the court to contribute on both ends. Michael Porter Jr. cannot have a poor game on the boards or miss a bunch of deep shots. They will need to crash the glass as a team, and take care of the ball as a team. The Thunder will run at every single opportunity and shoot a bunch of threes. They were 2-of-18 from distance in the second half of Game 6 – Denver has to keep pressuring them all the way out to the arc and force them to think about those shots.
Reserves and young players tend to play better at home than on the road, and Denver is going to need scoring from somewhere. Julian Strawther had one of the best games of his career in Game 6 – the challenge is obviously to do it again in a hostile environment. Peyton Watson needs to continue his defensive excellence. Denver can absolutely win this game, but every player has to look in the mirror and make sure that they leave everything on the court in this one.
The thing to bet: Nuggets money line (+260)
I don’t care about stats or over/under or number of stocks. This is Game 7, and all that matters is win-or-go-home. Bet the Nuggets win and set yourself up emotionally for whatever comes.
