The Denver Nuggets' season ended with a 125-93 Game 7 loss to the Thunder on Sunday as they failed to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. They jumped out to an early lead, but their lack of depth was the final nail in the coffin.
David Adelman finished his run as the interim head coach after Mike Malone was fired with three regular-season games remaining. Adelman's interim tag could be removed this summer if he takes over as head coach, but the question of who will be named head coach will be answered after the Nuggets find someone to take over as GM.
The 44-year-old exceeded expectations in his short time as head coach, but that doesn't mean he didn't make mistakes, one of which happened in Game 7. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray sat at the start of the second quarter as Adelman went with a Westbrook-Strawther-Braun-Watson-Gordon lineup. The Nuggets were up, 26-21, at the beginning of the quarter, but their lead quickly evaporated.
Oklahoma City went on a 6-0 run to take the 27-26 lead in one minute and two seconds. Murray checked back in with 10:58 remaining in the quarter, as the Thunder extended its run to 9-0. The Nuggets didn't score until the 9:53 mark, when Gordon hit a three. Denver never regained its lead.
Adelman instantly regretted sitting Jokic and Murray at start of second quarter
Jokic typically rests at the start of the second quarter. It would've been an unreasonable ask for him to play all 48 minutes, coming off a first-round series that also went to seven games. Having him sit at the start of the quarter was understandable, but not having Murray in the game wasn't, especially in a high-stakes matchup.
The decision wasn't why Denver lost the game (OKC was the superior team), but the Nuggets entered the afternoon with a slim margin for error. Adelman not prioritizing having one of their two stars on the floor at all times was a puzzling decision.
At the end of the day, rookie coaches (even interim ones) are still rookies. Adelman gained valuable experience over the past month and learned several lessons, including some tough ones. There is a lot of unknown about what next season will look like for the Nuggets, but if Adelman is named head coach, hopefully, there won't be another hiccup in a major game like there was on Sunday.