After a seven-game fight to the death against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Denver Nuggets are still breathing.
After whalloping the Clippers with a final knockout punch in Saturday Night’s blowout Game 7 win, the Nuggets are starting to show some shades of the balanced 2023 championship team that took defense seriously, and scored on you in waves.
While the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder are rightfully the favorites to beat Denver in round two, I think the Nuggets have a puncher's chance against OKC, which is something I would not have deemed possible in late March.
One of the biggest reasons Denver might be able to pull off the monster upset? The momentum of the new voice that is leading Denver’s charge.
With three games remaining in a season that looked as good as dead, David Adelman took over as the captain of a sinking ship while trying to fill the shoes of the most successful coach in Denver Nuggets history. Not exactly a breezy situation for a first-time, interim head coach.
But Adelman has handled himself beautifully.
David Adelman has earned the job after beating the Clippers
7-3. That is the Denver Nuggets' record ever since they fired Michael Malone.
While ten games may not be a huge sample size, I’ve seen enough from the reinvigorated Nuggets to tell me that David Adelman has proved his worth and deserves to be the head honcho in the Post-Malone era, regardless of the result against OKC.
Coming into Saturday Night, Clippers’ coach Tyronn Lue had a spotless 4-0 record in Game 7’s, including one to win a championship in the 2016 NBA Finals. But Adelman, who had only been a head coach for less than a month, was the one who came out on top.
Whether it was his decision to close with Russell Westbrook in Game 1, or having his team sag off Kris Dunn, or cooking up timely double teams to keep Kawhi and Harden off rhythm, Adelman displayed an X’s and O’s prowess that explains why he was reportedly an intriguing head coaching candidate for other teams around the league after this season.
Despite having many fewer buttons to push due to a lack of depth, Adelman helped squeeze all the juice out of the players they did have, and the Nuggets saw their bench grow stronger as the series came to a close. I thought Adelman’s decision to give more minutes to Peyton Watson was really important, and his trust in the third-year wing (who missed a lot of time during the second half of the season) paid major dividends.
On Saturday, Watson provided Denver with the youth, athleticism, and defense that were sorely missing in last year's Game 7 meltdown against Minnesota.
In 17 minutes, Watson scored 9 points on 4-4 shooting, and had 4 rebounds, a steal, and a block. If the Nuggets are going to threaten OKC, Watson will have to play a big role to help Denver slow down Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is too quick for AG but too tall for Christian Braun.
If Denver is lucky, Watson can build on his confidence next round and become another dependable defender at Denver’s disposal. But even more impressive than Watson has been the play of Westbrook, who had a tremendous series against his former team. Adelman said after Game 1 that Russ will be Russ, and that’s who they want him to be. Major props to Adelman, who could’ve played it safe with the steady, but inexperienced Jalen Pickett, but didn’t listen to the Russ critics, such as myself.
Jokic feels comfortable taking final leadership step
Another factor that has been interesting to watch since Adelman took over has been the increased leadership of Nikola Jokic.
Shams Charania reported earlier this week that Jokic has finally taken the final step towards being more vocal and a consistent day-to-day verbal leader, which was confirmed with people inside the Denver Organization.
Jokic dismissed this claim after Denver's win in a post-game interview with Inside the NBA, telling the crew that this narrative is being overblown.
But despite the Joker sheepishly downplaying it, I think this narrative is true, and it makes a lot of sense. When Jokic got to Denver, he was a pudgy, homesick kid. During the entirety of his transformation from unknown international prospect to the best player of the 2020s, Michael Malone was his head coach.
Understandably, he may have felt a little less comfortable being as demonstrative around Malone due to the respect he had for the coach who helped groom him into the superstar he is today.
But with Adelman, it feels different. Less of a loud, feisty motivator, Adelman seems a bit more even-keeled, and his strengths are more oriented towards X's and O's.
When Jokic called a sub for Adelman during the Nuggets' signature Game 4 road win over the Clippers, it was the sign of a player who felt comfortable enough to voice his opinion without holding back, and Adelman seemed to take no issue.
Looking towards OKC
After Denver’s win, David Adelman told his team to enjoy the moment before a brutal 48-hour turnaround for Game 1 against OKC, which will be an incredibly difficult task.
The Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an assortment of smart three-and-d wings, and they are younger, fresher, with much more depth. Beating this team four times feels unlikely, especially considering that Denver is tired and beat up, with guys like Michael Porter Jr. essentially playing with one arm.
But, for a group with championship mettle, toughness, and Nikola Jokic? It may seem unlikely, but it’s not impossible.
Regardless of what happens versus OKC, moving forward, I feel good with David Adelman calling the shots.