For the second straight season, the Nuggets will face a massive Game 7 in Ball Arena after blowing a chance to close out a series on the road in Game 6. Last season ended with a massive collapse in Ball Arena, blowing a 20-point second half lead to the Timberwolves and bowing out in the second round of the playoffs.
Denver was favored to win last year, and it was a bit shocking to see the team run out of gas and fall apart at the most critical time. Now, the Nuggets find themselves in a very similar predicament. The team had a 3-2 lead heading into LA for Game 6, but came up short as the Clippers pulled out a 111-105 victory to force the do-or-die showdown on Saturday.
Nuggets must keep their energy fior all 48 minutes
Last season, a big problem was that the Nuggets got fatigued by the end of the series. They were coming off a long championship run, then a hard push for seeding at the end of the regular season. The stars were overtaxed, playing through injuries, and by the end of Game 7 against the Wolves, it showed.
They’ve tried to avoid repeating those mistakes this season, but a lot of it is unavoidable. The roster is shallower than ever, and the top guys have bigger workloads than in years past. Yet again, the team had to battle until the final day of the regular season just to avoid the play-in tournament, and many players are battling through injuries.
Nikola Jokic must carry the Nuggets to Game 7 victory
At this point, it’s pretty evident that reinforcements are not coming. David Adelman has six guys he’s willing to play. Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr. are complete wild-cards, and they can’t be relied on to come through. Aaron Gordon are Christian Braun will be solid, but they are what they are and likely aren’t going to explode.
That brings things back to the stars, Jokic and Murray. We’ve known all season that the team would go as far as these two can take them, and nothing has changed. In Game 6, Murray and Jokic both had off nights while the Clippers' stars, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, both stepped up for LA.
That can’t happen in Game 7, or Denver is in trouble. They need the stars to be at their best and lead the way. Jokic needs to dominate from the opening tip and be the best player on the floor. That doesn’t necessarily mean he has to score 50 points or anything like that, but he has to generate good offense for his team, whether it’s his shots or someone else's.
Likewise, the Nuggets need the best version of Murray in this one to complement Jokic. Murray exploded for 43 points in the big Game 5 win, but he has been up and down and inconsistent. There’s no time for that in Game 7. They need Murray to attack the defense, get to the rim, make shots, and force the defense to adjust to him.
If Murray and Jokic are on, and their two-man game is humming, the Nuggets are going to be very hard to beat in Ball Arena. But if one of the two stars has a bad game, it’s going to be extremely difficult to find enough production to pull this one out.