Going into these playoffs, we knew that the Nuggets were an extremely thin team and would struggle to fill bench units throughout games. But the team was still confident that they’d be able to put five reliable players on the floor during crunch time that would help lead Denver to some clutch victories along the way.
That’s a lot of weight to place on a small number of players; it’s a strategy that’s counting on just about everything to go right, and leaving almost zero margin for error. When it all goes according to plan, it looks good. The team has a very high ceiling, and at their best, they can beat any team in the league and look like a true contender.
But when somebody breaks the chain, things can quickly spiral out of control, and Denver starts to look vulnerable, and we’ve seen them drop games to some of the worst teams in the league this season.
Nuggets struggling to find 5th guy consistently
Unfortunately, in these playoffs, and especially against the Thunder, it’s getting tougher to get five players on the floor who are on point at the same time. Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder injury seems to be truly catching up with him as he has been struggling badly in the last few games.
Russell Westbrook had a great series against the Clippers, but he has fallen off a cliff in recent games, and his shooting has been disastrous. In Game 5 against the Thunder, Denver blew a double-digit lead down the stretch, and the main reason was that Nikola Jokic couldn’t get any help.
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon have played well enough as second and third stars to survive, and Christian Braun has been rock solid, but that fifth spot on the floor has been a major issue recently.
Series is over if someone doesn't step up
David Adelman has been waffling between MPJ and Russ for the last spot and trying to ride the hot hand. But in the past two games, both players were ice cold, and Adelman was essentially drawing dead.
When both players are hurting the team’s spacing, the Nuggets might as well be playing 4-on-5 on offense. That’s what has happened in crunch time of the last couple of games, and it is killing Denver. They are already up against it in this series against a great team in OKC, and that’s at full strength.
If they can’t get somebody else to step up and put a strong five-man lineup on the floor, this series, and the Nuggets’ season, is all but over.