The Denver Nuggets didn’t have the energy to take a stranglehold on their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder in game two on Tuesday. In what ended up being a game that set basketball offenses back a generation, the Nuggets ultimately ran out of gas and lost 92-87. That returned homecourt advantage, and the series, to Oklahoma City where the Nuggets will need to win at least one game to put themselves in a position to clinch the series. They get their first crack at it tonight with an opportunity to go back into the driver’s seat and go up 3-2 in the Western Conference Semis.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (2-2) at Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2)
When: 7:30PM 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. 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 | 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: whistle adjustments
The Thunder have made their strategy against Nikola Jokic clear: beat the shit out of him because the refs aren’t going to call it. Yes, he ended up with 14 free throw attempts in game four but by and large in the two games Jokic has got to the line it’s been due to the Thunder picking up silly fouls once they already put the Nuggets in the bonus. We also saw on full display in game four how the Thunder’s star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is officiated differently than Jokic when on back to back plays the players drew identical fouls and SGA’s was ruled to be in the shooting motion but Jokic’s was not. There was a significant uproar, and not just from Nuggets fans, about how game four was officiated. I’ll be watching to see if there’s any change in the approach to refereeing.
The thing to remember: the Nuggets haven’t had a big a game but they can against this team
The very last game these two played against each other in the regular season was in Oklahoma City, on the second night of a back-to-back. The first game of the B2B was also in OKC where the Nuggets lost big. The second game featured the same starting lineup OKC has now in the playoffs, with the same players coming off the bench. The Nuggets were shorthanded (missing Aaron Gordon) and they outscored the Thunder by nineteen in the second half on their way to a thirteen-point win. Yes, OKC is a very well-built and deep team with some great top-end talent, but they’re not overwhelmingly better than Denver and that’s been proven through the season and this playoff series. The Nuggets wins in the Western Conference semis have been close ones so far. They might be due for a game they control throughout, and they are certainly capable of doing it on the Thunder’s floor.
The thing to bet: Denver to beat the 10.5 point spread (-110)
I tried to figure out something a little more unique for TTB on this game but that spread is just staring me in the face with big flashing green lights saying “FREE MONEY!!!” As we saw after game two, the betting public continues to overreact to a Nuggets loss. Since the media is driving the “Jokic ain’t that good because he’s had two bad games for him” narrative, the bettors are assuming this series is a wrap and right now driving this ridiculous spread. I’ll take my chances the Nuggets don’t lose by eleven or more tonight.
