OKC ties series with Denver 2-2 behind stout defense

    Written by: William Petersen •

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    Picture via NBA X

    A colloquial term that is often used in professional sports is, “defense wins championships”. This term seemed to be at the forefront of the Oklahoma City gameplan Sunday afternoon after the Thunder shut down the Denver Nuggets on the road in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals which found the Thunder evening the series at two games a piece following their 92-87 win in Denver on Mother’s Day.  OKC came into Game 4 looking to avenge their nine-point loss in Game 3 on Friday night thanks to tenacious defense that only allowed the Nuggets to score eight total points in the first quarter, their lowest in franchise history. After a back and forth game on Friday, one could expect the defense on both ends to tighten up for a pivotal Game 4 that would either find the series tied going back to OKC or with the Nuggets taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. Oklahoma City looked determined on defense from the opening tip, suffocating three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in the low post, which forced the star to find teammates who had trouble knocking down shots early. Oklahoma City posted the best regular season record in the NBA with 68 wins and only 14 losses, which stemmed from the dominant play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as their identity of playing stout defense.

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the MVP frontrunner for the majority if not all of the NBA season, continuing to exemplify why he will win his first MVP award after being the only Thunder player to score 15+ points in their Game 4 win. SGA is one of if not the “smoothest” players in the NBA and has proven to the Thunder front office that he is their cornerstone piece after dropping 25 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds off a uncharacteristic 8-19 shooting, and 0-5 from three. While SGA did not shoot as efficiently as many NBA fans are accustomed to, the Kentucky alum was still able to find his mid-range jump shots that go in more than they miss, in part to the defensive mindset that the Thunder brought to Game 4. Denver only made three field goals in the first quarter, which allowed OKC to control the pace of play, mainly Nikola Jokic’s impact on the first half, which allowed SGA and his guys to find their rhythm almost immediately.

    With Jokic getting double-teamed nearly every time he touched the ball in the halfcourt, OKC forced the Nuggets to rely on their other shooters like Michael Porter Jr, Christian Braun, Jamal Murray, and eventually Russell Westbrook to try and burden some of the load that Jokic couldn’t account for. To the average fan it looked like Westbrook was getting a plethora of quality shots, shooting nine threes only hitting two, which resulted in a lot of quick possessions that yielded no points. When you compound multiple possessions with shots early in the shot clock that don’t go in, you found a Nuggets team that was playing from behind for the majority of the game with a lack of offensive flow. Michael Porter Jr. had a great bounceback game in Game 3 with 21 points going 5-6 from three but struggled in Game 4 finishing with only three points on 1-7 shooting, 0-5 from three.You cannot put all the blame on the Nuggets poor shooting and offensive execution, rather blame it on the defensive gameplan that the Thunder brought to Ball Arena. This gameplan encompassed making life impossible for Jokic while forcing other Nuggets to take tough shots or forcing Russell Westbrook to be a three-point shooter which he has never been in his long tenured NBA career.

    While Nikola Jokic continues to struggle shooting in this series, he did manage to keep the Nuggets in the game down the stretch by hitting tough post shots which ultimately found him finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds on 7-22 shooting and 2-8 from three. Jokic is going to get his shots every night no matter what the defense looks like, but guys like MPJ and point guard Jamal Murray, who finished with 17 points on 5-15 shooting, 2-5 from three, need to hit their shots when presented in order to relieve Jokic of some offensive pressure. If the Nuggets are going to have any chance of winning Game 5 in OKC, Denver has to find a way to exploit the Thunder’s defensive gameplan of limiting Jokic’s impact. The easiest way to exploit this focus from the Thunder is plan and simple, hit your shots.

    The biggest advantage that the Nuggets have over a young Thunder team is their playoff experience, which has shown itself in Games 1 and 3. Denver has shown that if you let them hang around into the fourth quarter they have the ability to wear you down and close games when they’re tight. If the Nuggets can keep the first three quarters in Game 5 within striking distance, the Nuggets always have a chance of pulling out a win. Doing this in a hostile environment on the road in a now pivotal Game 5 will be the ultimate test for a team that won their first NBA Championship just two seasons ago. Look for Jokic to continue to be harassed on Tuesday night by a committed Thunder defense but if Denver can get more production from the supporting cast more consistently, then we could find this series going to a Game 7.

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