Nuggets’ elimination highlights issues around Nikola Jokić. How can Denver improve?

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Happy 49th birthday to Kevin Garnett! He’s one of the greatest players to ever lace them up. A true warrior on the court. For anybody who tries to discount his career, go check out most games played during his 12 years in Minnesota. It is a sobering list. But he’d never make that excuse.

About Game 7

“The Jokić Stopper” is outweighed by 100 lbs

If you didn’t watch the game, you’ll look at the final score of Game 7 and think the Thunder winning 125-93 over the Nuggets was just an obliteration from start to finish. The Nuggets were trying to keep their rotation together via duct tape with Aaron Gordon and his grade 2 hamstring strain. They were also hoping the energy behind Julian Strawther’s Game 6 performance traveled to Oklahoma City. And, for a while, the Nuggets were pushing the Thunder, making them troubleshoot things left and right.

Then, something happened in the second quarter. Alex Caruso got switched onto Nikola Jokić and defended him perfectly by denying any kind of post entry. He pushed. He shoved. He orbited Big Honey’s massive frame, staying within the gravitational pull while the Thunder defense helped him keep the ball away from Jokić’s grip. It gave Thunder coach Mark Daigneault enough confidence to even go with an entirely small lineup to give his two bigs a break.

For nearly two minutes in the second quarter, Caruso guarded Jokić. Not because of switches. It was by design. The Thunder matched the Nuggets 4-4 during that time. Jokić was 0-of-1 with a turnover, and he had two points on two free throws. It was mind-boggling watching Jokić not just overpower and get the best of Caruso. Right after that small lineup standstill, the Thunder went on a run to close out the final three minutes of the first half. They turned a one-point lead into a 14-point lead with an 18-5 run, fueled by 11 points and one assist from Jalen Williams.

The All-Star forward finally showed up to have his best game of the series. He finished with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists and five rebounds in 33 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 of his 35 points in the third quarter to help break it open, and the Thunder cruised to the Western Conference finals, where they’ll take on the Timberwolves.

Caruso was physical with Jokić. Denver’s side wanted fouls called on him. OKC’s side of the experience would remind you of how Jokić typically moves his defenders out of the way with physicality. Regardless, this wasn’t as much about officiating as it was about the dam breaking.

• Twenty-two Denver turnovers for 37 points.
• The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 64-42 points in the paint.
• They also had a 27-14 advantage on fast-break points.
• OKC led by as many as 43.

Game 1 of the Western Conference finals starts tomorrow night in OKC. It’s a quick turnaround for the Thunder. We’ll preview the series tomorrow.

The Last 24

How the Knicks took down the Celtics

🏀 Hoopers allowed. The Knicks had a players-only meeting to get them on track. It worked against Boston. 

🤫 Not yet. Al Horford (turns 39 on June 3) is being asked about retirement. He won’t talk about it yet.

💰 Money to spend. Danny Leroux gives a guide to what each team can spend this summer. Hello Brooklyn!

👀 On the move? The “No Dunks” crew drafted landing spots for Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade. Could he join Victor Wembanyama?

The Basketball 100

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In the Year 2000 …

Knicks-Pacers matchup is best-case scenario

I know a month or two ago, we were pining for the Cavaliers and Celtics to end up in the conference finals. We wanted to see if the improvements of the Cavs could hold up and breakthrough against the defending champion Celtics. Even before Jayson Tatum’s injury or the Cleveland collapse, this matchup of the Pacers and Knicks had the most juice. This isn’t just an extension of the incredible second-round series they played last season. This series has the most personality and the most interesting star power possible in the East.

And while people have been complaining about the style of basketball the Celtics play and won the title with last season, the Pacers and Knicks give us something hoops fans can actually sink their teeth into. This isn’t just about the flashbacks to Reggie Miller taunting Spike Lee or those great battles from roughly three decades ago. Although, that’s nice. This isn’t just about what we saw last year. Knicks-Pacers will give us two relentless, hard-nosed teams that attack all over the floor. They’re going to be physical and talk trash and have all kinds of fireworks on the court.

Game 1 is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start previewing it now.

Battle of the Point Gods

Tyrese Haliburton against Jalen Brunson will be incredible. They won’t guard each other much. Brunson will probably guard Andrew Nembhard or Aaron Nesmith. Haliburton will probably be on Josh Hart. But the way they both operate and lead their team is very different, but highly effective.

Brunson is averaging 28.8 points, 7.7 assists and 2.6 turnovers with 44.0/36.3/81.9 shooting splits. He’s getting to the free-throw line 7.8 times per game. This season’s Clutch Player of the Year has dealt with top tier defenders during this playoff run in both rounds, and he’s still putting up highly impressive numbers.

Haliburton’s numbers are different and more modest at 17.5 points, 9.3 assists and just 2.1 turnovers with 47.4/33.8/79.4 shooting splits. His 3-point shooting and free-throw accuracy have both dropped dramatically (38.8 and 85.1, respectively) in the postseason, so far. But the way he’s orchestrated the Pacers against Miami and then in the dismantling of Cleveland has been brilliant.

These have been two of the most clutch players in the postseason, so no finish is safe for either team.

The KAT factor

These two teams played three times this season, but I’m really only interested in the third game. That happened in February, during Indiana’s 2025 turnaround when they became one of the best teams in the NBA. The Knicks won 128-115 with Karl-Anthony Towns going for 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting. He also had 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Josh Hart had 30, and Brunson only had eight points as he battled foul trouble.

OG Anunoby and Myles Turner didn’t play in this game. The Pacers not being able to stop KAT is nothing new, though. For his career, Towns’ highest scoring average against any team is 27.8 per game. It’s a tie against the Bulls and the Pacers. His shooting splits against the Pacers in 18 games are a ridiculous 56.1/40.3/87.5. That’s a 66.7 percent true shooting.

Turner is going to have a lot of responsibility in keeping Towns from getting in a rhythm while still keeping an eye on Brunson getting into the paint.

It’s not just a league of 3-pointers

You probably think of both of these teams as shooting a lot of 3-pointers, but that’s simply not the case — at least not by today’s standards. The Pacers are ranked 21st in 3-point volume. The Knicks are 28th. With that being said, both of these teams are very accurate from deep. The Knicks are eighth in percentage, and the Pacers are ninth. But these two teams do not just run up and down the floor, jacking up a lot of deep shots.

These two teams attack the paint quite a bit. That’s where this series will likely be won. The Knicks ranked sixth in the NBA in points scored in the paint (52.5) this season, and the Pacers are not far behind at 11th (51.0). These two teams also give up a lot of points in the paint. The Knicks are 20th, and the Pacers are 26th.

We’ll see a lot of relentless attacking in this series. Let’s just hope both teams stay healthy this time around.

We want to hear from you! We’ve got a little poll here for you, The Bouncers, to make your predictions for the Eastern Conference finals!

Mining For Contention

Nuggets are at a crossroads this summer

Nikola Jokić is the ultimate cologne. By championship standards, this Nuggets team stinks. It’s why they fired their coach with three games left. It’s why they let everybody know former general manager Calvin Booth was Calvin Booted. It’s why all of the reasons Booth and former head coach Michael Malone fought this season over how the roster was used on the court (short bench, young guys not getting time over veterans, etc.) ended up being exactly what interim coach David Adelman did in the playoffs.

This isn’t a good roster. Jokić is just so good that he can trick you into thinking there’s something here. When Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are healthy, they obviously help make this look a lot more like 2023. Christian Braun did a solid job filling the shoes of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but nobody then consistently filled the shoes behind Braun. The Russell Westbrook experience was great/terrible depending on the way the wind blew.

Michael Porter Jr. doesn’t inspire any confidence, and they had to beg for his engagement in the playoffs. Yes, he has a shoulder injury, but I’m pretty sure you can still rotate defensively with that.

They have no depth. They are capped out. And there’s no real way of adding to the roster. What the Nuggets need to do is find a sucker who is willing to talk themselves into the remaining $79 million over two years owed to Porter, while sending back a couple of quality role players. Denver has to move on from DeAndre Jordan being a great teammate and find an actual backup center that can give Jokić some kind of breather.

I’ll assume they keep Adelman as the coach and let him really flesh out what he wants to do with full control of the court. But that also depends on where they go with the front office. The Nuggets are a mess, and Jokić showed you about as far as he can drag a mess like this without some healthy help thrown his way.

Nuggets (50-32, fourth in the West)

• Draft pick situation: Their first-rounder (25th overall) belongs to Orlando, and their second-rounder (52nd) belongs to Phoenix.
• Upcoming free agents: Dario Šarić ($5.4m player option), Westbrook ($3.4m player option), Jordan, Vlatko Čančar
• Main guys: Jokić, Murray, Gordon, Porter Jr.
• Any cap room? Not in the slightest.
• Do they have to worry about any tax aprons? Currently projected to be a few million over the first apron. They probably will avoid the second apron.
• What do they need this summer? They need to figure out if David Adelman is their full-time coach and how to get much-needed depth.

(Top photo: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )

This news was originally published on this post .

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