The Denver Nuggets are officially out of mulligans. After falling apart in the end of game five, the Nuggets now find themselves down 3-2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder and facing elimination. Nikola Jokic put up an all-time performance in game five but Denver’s lack of depth was a problem when he had no help. Meanwhile Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been as efficient as normal, but still is piling up points and hitting clutch shots. It’s not over by any means though, the Nuggets know all too well that 3-2 series lead is far from clinching it. They need to bring their best game tonight to send this back to OKC for game seven.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (2-3) at Oklahoma City Thunder (3-2)
When: 6:30PM 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. TNT/TruTV/Max, 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 | Fiiiine…Thunder |
| 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: desperation
If ever there’s a time to be desperate, it’s now. The Nuggets know what it’s like to face elimination and have to win multiple games and they have the advantage of being in the friendly confines of Ball arena tonight but there should be no shortage of energy and effort from the jump. The last time the Nuggets faced elimination they blew the Los Angeles Clippers out in Denver. I expect a same level of desperation tonight and the Nuggets to get out early. However, OKC will counterpunch and the Nuggets have to be ready to respond. They’ve also got to find a way to not run out of gas in the fourth.
The thing to remember: this Thunder team hasn’t gone long in a playoff series and won
Remember that this Thunder team is still relatively lacking in playoff experience. They’ve swept two series where they played a team that lost their best player early and those are their only series wins. It’s a bit of unchartered territory for them in terms of trying to close out a team in a long series. They haven’t seen a team as talented as Denver with their backs against the wall yet. There’s levels to intensity, preseason/regular season/postseason etc. Title contender facing elimination is about as intense as it gets. Don’t be surprised if the Thunder get punched in the mouth early tonight and maybe take moment to recover.
The thing to bet: Nuggets moneyline (+150)
I feel confident in the Nuggets winning tonight so I’m back on the money line. Maybe it’s just homerism but Denver’s had this team on the ropes two games in a row and let the rope slip. I think they’re not ready to go home just yet and send this back to OKC for one more game.
