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Thunder @ Denver Nuggets Preview (Game 6 – 2nd Round)

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma City Thunder (7-2) @ Denver Nuggets (6-6)
When: Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 7:30pm CST
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Series: OKC leads 3-2
TV: ESPN
Playoff Offensive Rating – DEN: 110.3 (9th) / OKC: 115.2 (5th)
Playoff Defensive Rating – DEN: 114.8 (10th) / OKC: 101.1 (1st)
Playoff Net Rating – DEN: -4.5 (11th) / OKC: 14.1 (1st)

The Set-Up

Rewind back to Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks last year. The Thunder were coming off a hard-fought, comeback victory in Game 4 on the road to tie that series at 2 games. The momentum was definitely in OKC’s favor. Heading back home for Game 5. This is what teams fight all regular season for: that home court advantage. And it started off good. OKC up 8-2 two minutes into that game. It quickly went downhill from there. Dallas was up by 12 entering the 4th quarter and went up by as much as 15 points. OKC fought back as best they could, cutting the deficit to 7, but ultimately couldn’t get over that hump as Dallas won the game 104-92.

When you juxtapose that to this series, it was nearly identical. The Thunder won a hard-fought, comeback victory in Game 4 on the road to tie the series at 2 games apiece. Momentum firmly on OKC’s side. And the Thunder started Game 5 off like they were trying to replicate the buzzsaw performance that was Game 2. OKC was up 12-2 with 7:58 left in the first quarter when Denver took their first timeout of the game. And then the fun stopped. Nikola Jokic went into MVP form, Jamal Murray remembered that he usually performs well in the playoffs, and the Thunder’s shooting dried up. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Thunder found themselves down by 8 points. Denver tacked on one more point to the lead with 10 minutes left in the game.

And then it happened. The Thunder weren’t going to let the demons from last season haunt them. The Thunder found their will. And that will’s name was Lu Dort. Three straight threes from Dort brought the Thunder within two with 6 minutes left to play. That momentum shift affected the whole team, but probably, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the most. From that point, he was the Shai we’ve seen all season. The MVP. The defense locked in and the offense opened up. An Isaiah Hartenstein alley-oop dunk. A Chet Holmgren layup. A Jalen Williams 3. Some SGA middies. And SGA 3 (finally!). What was a 9-point deficit with 8:25 left in the game turned into a 7-point victory. This wasn’t going to be a repeat of last year. On to Game 6…with a 3-2 series lead.

Betting Info

Line: OKC -4.5
O/U: 216.5

Injury Report

OKC
Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)

DEN
DaRon Holmes – OUT (Achilles)
Hunter Tyson – OUT (ankle)

Three Big Things

1. Decisiveness on Offense – While we’ve seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be Superman this season, we’ve also seen his possible kryptonite in this series against the Nuggets. When Denver forces SGA to think, even if it’s just for a second, it throws off his rhythm just enough for them to send one or two extra defenders his way and either get the ball out of his hands or force him into a live grenade situation. SGA has been most successful when he’s allowed to make a quick decision and play his natural game. This usually occurs when he’s off-ball, receives the ball on the move, and is usually accompanied by a high screen from Isaiah Hartenstein that allows him that sliver of space he needs to do what he likes. We’ve seen this late in the game in Games 4 and 5. It’s a possibility that by that point in the game he’s figured out the defense. It’s also a possibility that by that point, Denver is too exhausted to keep up with him and he takes advantage of them being a step slower. Whatever it is, he needs to do is earlier and more consistently throughout the game.

2. Desperation Jokic – If you guys thought Nikola Jokic was insufferable in Game 5 with all the foul-baiting and what not, you haven’t seen nothing yet. Jokic is a shark and when Denver gets into the bonus, it’s like he smells blood. It’s what great scorers do. SGA has 43 free throws in this series and Jokic has 41. But Jokic’s style of play and position lend him to hunt and seek contact more than SGA. If you thought the arm-locking and flailing was bad in Game 5, prepare yourself.

3. Close It Out! – Don’t put yourself in a position for a winner take all game. Too many variables can occur in those games that can negate home court advantage. An ankle sprain here, foul trouble there. If you are in the driver’s seat, go ahead and close it out. Will it be easy? Of course not. But the alternative is even more nerve-wracking.

5 for 5: The Rivalries

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Alex Roig

5 for 5: The Longest Shortest Season | 5 for 5: Tragedies, Courtrooms, and Beginnings | 5 for 5: The Run | 5 for 5: The Thunder’s Godfather

This past season, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed their 5^th season in the state of Oklahoma. In a world dominated by round numbers, getting to the midway point is always a cause for celebration. In any relationship, you look back at key moments that made it possible to arrive at certain anniversary marks. In the next few weeks heading into training camp, I’ll be looking at 5 defining moments that made it possible for the Thunder to not only roar into the Plains, but also to do it in winning fashion.

For the third part in this series, I wanted to focus on the rivalries. Sports are only as good as the competition they incite. Playing driveway basketball against your kids when they are 5 years of age can quickly get boring (although palming misdirected shots in midair like you’re Serge Ibaka can be entertaining for at least an hour or so). But, try playing your kids when they are 18 years old and have had 12 years of playing experience. Then it becomes an entirely different ballgame.

When it comes to competition, I’ve always looked at the career of Floyd Mayweather Jr. with a sliver of disappointment. That he’s a great boxer with arguably the best defense in the history of boxing is without question. The issue that I’ve had with his career has been the level of competition of his opponents. Now, I’m not saying that falls squarely on Mayweather. The guys in his weight classes have not been particularly consistent in the past decade. He’s also “luckily” scheduled the right fights at the right times, choosing to fight boxers that were either on the downward slide of their career (Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley) or fighters that were too inexperienced to compete with him at the time of their fight (Canelo Alvarez and Victor Ortiz). He’s never had that one opponent that defined him. Mike Tyson had Evander Holyfield. Arturo Gatti had Mickey Ward. Mayweather has…… (and therein lies the problem with his career).

If fans are the life blood of sports, then rivalries are the engines that keep them running. You naturally root against your opponent because they are competing against you and you want to win. Pretty simple concept. But if you add something more to that competitive fire, it can act like an accelerant, creating an even bigger blaze. Rivalries, and the differing reasons for them, can be that spark. When it comes to the Thunder, I’ve categorized their rivals under 4 different categories.

1. Regional Foes

Geography and competition are probably the easiest ways to breed a rivalry. Whether it’s an intracity game between two high schools or a game between professional sports teams 200 miles apart, that desire to be superior to those closest to you is an innate characteristic of the human psyche. Even if the two teams aren’t on equal footing at the time of the game, the rivalry aspect of the game often lends it to be a close affair. Continue reading →

On the Road Again

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Alex Roig

I’m a child of the late 80’s / early 90’s. It was during that time that I was in elementary school learning, as most of the world was, about computers. And, of course, the best way to learn is to interactively play games that also teach you about the subject matter. My favorite games to play on those old floppy-disc induced Apple computers was Oregon Trail. If you, either, don’t remember, or were too young to know what a floppy disc was, it was a story-based game of a journey through the Oregon Trail. You are the wagon leader of a party of settlers going from Independence, Missouri to Oregon’s Willamette Valley over the Oregon Trail in an oxen-drawn wagon. Along the trail, you have to make decisions concerning food and directions to survive the trail. You and your fellow settlers can die from a range of maladies from drowning to snake bites to dysentery. Needless to say, it is a game about the difficulties of being on the road.

Many teams in this young strike shortened season are probably looking at their road records and wondering whether the entire team is suffering from a bout of cholera. Of the 30 teams in the NBA, only 6 have a winning record on the road. While most teams struggle on the road in any given season, shortened or not, the upper echelon teams usually buck that trend and win wherever they play. Such has not been the case this season.

The Southwest-leading San Antonio Spurs have an 8-4 record overall, but are an awful 0-4 on the road.
The Pacific-leading Los Angeles Lakers are also 8-4 overall, but carry a 1-3 road record.
The veteran Boston Celtics, a team that is supposed to know how to play on the road, is 1-3 in its games away from Massachusetts.

Winning on the road usually involves a balanced combination of veteran leadership, youthful legs, good defense, and good bench play. It should come as no surprise that the 6 teams with winning road records have some semblance of each of those 4 characteristics needed to be a good road team.Oklahoma City (5-1), Chicago (7-2), Miami(5-2), Orlando(4-2), and Indianapolis and Atlanta(both at 4-3) are all defensive minded teams with a nice mix of vets and youth, and good to great benches.

5 of the 6 winning road teams are in the top 10 for point differential.
4 of the 6 winning road teams are in the top 10 for opponent’s PPG.
5 of the 6 winning road teams are in the top 10 for opponent’s FG%.
Oklahoma City and Chicago have 2 of the best benches in the league.

While it is still early in the season, trends like these don’t tend to change too much throughout the course of the season. We are already at least 1/6^th of the way through the season (unless you are the Los Angeles Clippers). At this point, most teams are Denny Green (“They are who we thought they were!”). In the playoffs, you have to know how to win on the road. So take a good look at the 6 teams with winning road records. More than likely 2 of those teams will end up playing in the Finals.

Thunder Rumblings – Week In Review (Jan 2 – 8)

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma CityThunder: Week in Review (Jan 2^nd – Jan 8^th)

Record for the week – 3-2

Overall record – 8-2

Games played:

Jan 2^nd (@ Dallas)

After starting the season winning their first 5 games, the Thunder were looking to stay on pace with the Miami Heat to remain the only unbeatens in the league. This was the 4^th meeting between these two teams within a 2 week period, and started to take on the feel of a playoff series. With the Mavs looking to get their season on track, the Thunder came out flat and ultimately lost the game 100 – 87. The Mavs bench dominated the Thunder’s, outscoring them 47-25. The only good news of the night came with the fact thatMiami also lost their first game, and lost it, chronologically speaking, before the Thunder game was over.

Jan 3^rd (vs.Portland)

Looking to get back on track after their first loss of the season, the Thunder went back home to face division rival Portland. With starting SG Thabo Sefolosha out with an injured foot and flu-like symptoms, 6^th man of the year candidate James Harden was inserted into the starting lineup. The teams played pretty evenly in the first half, with the Thunder taking a 2 point lead into halftime. Behind the great play of Lamarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant’s shooting struggles,Portland took over in the second half and won the game 103 – 93. With Harden starting, the bench scored an anemic 14 points and could not muster much when they were in the game.

Jan 6^th (vs.Houston)

Looking to get back on the winning track, the Thunder took on the Houston Rockets, who were 0-4 on their previous road games. With Thabo Sefolosha returning to the lineup, the rotation normalized and the Thunder jumped out of the gate to finish the 1^st quarter up by 10 and never looked back, eventually winning 109 – 94. The starters rested in the 4^th quarter, and every player that was active played.

Jan 7^th (@ Houston)

If games were played purely on paper, then this game wasn’t worth playing. The Thunder had beat the team by 15 on the previous night. The only difference was the locale. Well, the Rockets came out and gave the Thunder a good game, matching them bucket for bucket for much of it until late in the 4^th quarter. The Thunder got a couple timely stops late in the game and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook worked the two man game in the 4^th to perfection with Durant scoring the Thunder’s last 13 points. The Thunder escaped with a 3 point victory 98 – 95. The only blemish in the game was the loss of back up PG Eric Maynor to a torn ACL in the 4^th quarter.

Jan 8^th (vs.San Antonio)

The dreaded 3rd game in as many nights. The strange thing is that every team that has played a back to back to back, has won the 3^rd game. So why should the Thunder be any different? While the first half stayed pretty close, the 3^rd quarter belonged to the Thunder who blew the lid off the game, outscoring the Spurs 37-21 in the quarter. The Thunder had a 22 point lead heading into the 4^th quarter and the starters sat for the entire period. Rookie Reggie Jackson saw his first extended action of the season, replacing the injured Eric Maynor as the Thunder’s backup PG, and scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting with 4 assists.

My Takes:

The loss of Eric Maynor could prove to be big. If you’re are looking at it, strictly, from a statistical point of view, then Maynor’s 4 points and 2 assists per game may seem inconsequential. But from a game manager point of view, his loss could have major ramifications on the Thunder’s bench play. Maynor set the tone on the 2^nd unit, and provided a change of pace to the starters whenever necessary. There will be games where this aspect of what he brought to the table will be sorely missed. Here’s to sending a get well wish to Eric Maynor.
Its amazing how the return of a defensive minded SG could have such a positive effect on the offense. In the two losses, the offense seemed out of sync with the loss of Sefolosha. The players, especially Durant and Westbrook, seemed unsure of themselves and the bench suffered with Harden’s insertion into the starting line-up. Here’s to Scott Brooks not messing with the lineup unless he has to.
Durant seems to be efficiently scoring again and Westbrook seems to be returning back to form after starting the season in a bit of a funk. Here’s to realizing that this is a weird season, and players (even superstars) will probably have more ups and downs than an oscillating wave.

Player of the Week:

While Durant and Westbrook both struggled a bit in the beginning of the week, James Harden remained consistent throughout the week, averaging 19.5 points on 51% shooting from the field and 43% shooting from 3 point land, while contributing 3.8 boards, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. If the Bearded One continues this, I don’t just see a 6^th Man of the Year award in his future, but also an All Star nomiation.

Be Careful What You Wish For…

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Alex Roig

In late February of last season, when the Oklahoma City Thunder first acquired Kendrick Perkins, one of the biggest changes occurred on the offensive end of the floor. The lanes that were once open with the spacing provided by the perimeter games of Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green were no longer there. In its place, those lanes were replaced by “box and 1” defenses with defenders hedging off of Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha.

Mainly used for his defense, Sefolosha’s inability to consistently hit jumpers limited the first team’s offensive production. The opposing shooting guard, usually one of the better ball hawks on the floor, was able to play off of Sefolosha and help defend throughout the floor, whether it was doubling down on Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, or plugging up an open lane in the interior. In addition, the team replaced one of the better shooting centers in the league with one of the more offensively-challenged centers in the league. Perkins does all of his work in the interior. While he may step out and try a 15 footer from time to time, his best play is no more than 5 feet from the basket. Krstic’s biggest offensive impact wasn’t necessarily his shooting; instead, it was in keeping the opposing center away from the basket. Also, Serge Ibaka’s midrange game had yet to develop any type of consistency. In essence, the team seemed like it was playing 2 on 5 on the offensive end with this line-up most of the time.

This had the biggest effect on the play of point guard Russell Westbrook, whose game is predicated on using those lanes to drive to the basket. Westbrook’s stat line for the regular season remained consistent at 22 ppg on 44% FG shooting to along with 8.2 assists. But when the game slowed down as it usually does in the playoffs, his scoring increased to 23.8 ppg, but it was on 39% FG shooting to go along with 6.2 assists and 4.6 turnovers per game. Westbrook became less efficient in the playoffs and the offense, as a whole, became less efficient because of this. It was during these playoffs that the glaring need for a spacer became very evident.

Once the season ended, the consensus was that the next step in the evolution of this team was to replace Sefolosha with 6^th man James Harden in the starting 5. Harden was a much better shooter and creator than Sefolosha, which would’ve added another dimension to the starting 5. No longer would the wing defender be able to help by hedging off of Sefolosha, as Harden’s ability to consistently hit 3’s would negate this. This would’ve opened at least one extra lane for Durant and Westbrook to drive through. Add this to Ibaka’s improving midrange game, and this should have brought the offense back to where it was pre-trade, with good spacing and perimeter options. Seemed simple enough.

But the devil’s advocate to this move has always been to ask where the bench scoring was going to come from once Harden was lifted off the bench. Every great team has at least one player from the bench that is able to take over when the bench unit is in there. The Mavs had Jason Terry and JJ Barea. The Lakers had Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. The Spurs had Manu Ginobili. The Bulls had BJ Armstrong (first 3-peat) and Toni Kukoc (second 3-peat). And who could forget the Bad Boy Pistons and Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson. Due to the Thunder’s great durability and good luck, we’ve never had to see what the second unit would look like without James Harden for an extended period of time.

The Thunder’s bench unit has been a well-oiled machine for the past 2 seasons. With point guard Eric Maynor running the show, Harden doing the scoring, Daequan Cook providing spacing, and forward Nick Collison providing the muscle, the Thunder bench has been one of the most efficient in the league during that time. This season, the bench averaged 39 points per game in the first 5 games, with Harden doing the most damage at 16 ppg. Where the starting line-up falters, the bench usually picks up.

Then the last two games happened. With Sefolosha dealing with a sore foot and flu-like symptoms and Cook also dealing with flu-like symptoms, the Thunder’s usual 10 man rotation was shortened to 8, with rookie Reggie Jackson and second year player Lazar Hayward filling in the missing pieces. With Harden in the starting line-up for the second half of the Dallas Mavericks game and starting outright in the Portland Trailblazers game, Thunder fans got a glimpse of what life would be like with Harden in the starting lineup.

In the second half of the Mavericks game, the trio of Durant, Harden, and Westbrook scored a combined 31 points with 3 assists while trying to come back from a second half deficit. The rest of the team scored 9 points in the second half with only 5 coming from one bench player (Maynor). In thePortlandgame, the trio combined for 64 points and 16 assists, but struggled from the field, shooting only 40% from the floor combined. The bench, on the hand, had only 14 points on 6/17 shooting.

While the trio figure themselves out, the bench is left to fend for itself without a valid scorer on tap. This is where an acquisition like Jamal Crawford, Vince Carter, or Tracy McGrady could’ve come in handy. While I like what I see from the future starting line-up, I also think the team is incomplete without a scorer off the bench. Which leads me to the weirdest thing I’ve said this young year: Damn, I miss Thabo Sefolosha.