By Michael Kinney
It’s the matchup we have been waiting for. No matter what happened throughout the NBA regular season, it just always felt like Oklahoma City and Denver were going to have to face off during the postseason.
It took the Nuggets beating the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in a Game 7 Saturday evening to ensure the matchup, but it is now set in stone.
“It’s a high-level series. You have two great teams, they are playing at a high level. I think you see it on a night-to-night basis,” OKC’s Isaiah Hartenstein said before Game 7. “The adjustments they are both doing on a night-to-night basis, that is something we have to be a little bit more prepared for compared to the first series, where it was more just kinda an up-and-down game, and there probably weren’t a lot of adjustments. So just being ready for that is going to be big for us
Oklahoma City and Denver will meet in the Western Conference Semifinals. Game 1 of the seven-game series tips off at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The Thunder haven’t played a game since eliminating the Memphis Grizzlies April 26.
The series will feature the top two MVP candidates from the regular season. Denver’s Nikola Jokić has already taken home the award three of the past four years. Conversely, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is seeking his first MVP and is considered the favorite.
However, the series is going to be one or lost on more than just the play of Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander. Just like during the regular season when teams split their four games 2-2, it’s going to take the entire roster to advance to the next round. Players such as Jalen Williams, Russell Westbrook, Chet Holmgren and Christian Braun will have a say in who advances to the Western Conference Finals.
Out of the four semifinal games that will take place over the next two weeks, it would be hard to find a more entertaining series than what the Thunder and Nuggets have the potential to produce. (Unless Golden State faces Minnesota).
After Game 1 Monday night (TNT), Game 2 (TNT) is set for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The series will move to Denver for the next two games on Friday (ESPN) and Sunday (ABC).
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