Fandom from Afar
Join me as I discuss my journey as a Colorado sports fan living in Florida and my interviews with sports fans that are forced to enjoy their favorite teams from a distance.
Fandom from Afar
Game 7 Westbrook
The Nuggets defeat the Clippers in Game 7, adding another chapter to their history of decisive playoff games and setting up a second-round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Denver's victory came through unexpected heroes as Russell Westbrook, Christian Brown, and Aaron Gordon stepped up while Jokić and Murray had quieter offensive performances.
• Russell Westbrook delivered a revenge game against his former team with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals
• Jokić and Murray combined for only about 30 points, yet the Nuggets still dominated
• Christian Brown continues to develop as a two-way player, hitting big shots and defending well
• Aaron Gordon battled through injury to contain Kawhi Leonard effectively
• The Thunder series presents challenges with their youth, rest advantage, and 68-win regular season
• Denver has experience on their side, with the Thunder's first-round sweep of Memphis providing little playoff resistance
• Jokić should have an easier matchup against the Thunder's frontcourt than he did against Zubac
• Coach Adelman has made a strong case to become the permanent head coach with his tactical decisions
• The Nuggets' core four deserves another season together with improved bench support
Don't forget to subscribe on Apple or Spotify and leave those 5 Star reviews!
Follow us on Social
Facebook
X / Twitter
Instagram
All right, everyone, welcome back to Fandom From Afar. Wow, I think we all can take a deep breath now. That was quite the series. And of course the Nuggets went to Game 7. That's what they do. They go to Game 7 more than anyone. I can remember when they were first coming up this Jokic-Murray era, they had a Game 7 against the Spurs. They won that against the Blazers. They happened to lose that one in the bubble. They went to Game 7 against the Jazz and the Clippers, after both coming back from 3-1 in both of those to win those. And then, of course, last year we had the devastating loss in Game 7 to the T-Wolves. So of course last year we had the devastating loss in game seven to the T-wolves. So of course the Nuggets went to game seven. But they came out victorious and I am just so happy. It was quite the beat down and we will definitely get into that. But first let's let's look back a little bit. Since we last spoke.
Speaker 1:I was very right and very wrong on some of my predictions for what was going to happen in games five, six and seven. And let's start with game five. Game five I predicted it was going to be the Jamal Murray game. I predicted he was going to have more than 30 points and the Nuggets were going to win. Well, in reality, it was the Jamal Murray game and he had more than 40 points 43 to be exact and the Nuggets did win. So I will chalk that up as a correct prediction. Game six I predicted it was going to be the Norman Powell and Nicholas Batum game. I predicted they were going to go for over 60 points, just because that's what happens to the Nuggets, these random role players just never miss and end up destroying us in a game. Well, it kind of was the Norman Powell and Nicholas Batum game. They didn't score as much as I thought they would. They combined for about 30 points, but I would say both those guys were a huge factor in the Clippers' victory. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, I think, led the way with scoring, but I'll count that as a, let's say, a half win.
Speaker 1:And then in Game 7, of course, I made a prediction for Game 7 because I knew the Nuggets were going to Game 7, because that's what they do. So my prediction was it was going to be a Jokic game. He was going to hit a historic shot and the Nuggets were going to win. Well, jokic did not have a historic game. He was actually kind of very average on offense and he played great defense. I will say that he did step up defensively and it allowed the others to have kind of a great game and so I'm not complaining. The others stepped up. The Nuggets absolutely dominated the game from really after the first quarter. For the rest of the game the Nuggets had it in control and it was so fun to watch and it was pretty incredible. If you would have told me that Jokic would only have, I think, 14 or 16 points and not really a lot of rebounds or assists, and Jamal Murray would only score same thing, about 15 points, I would have thought the Nuggets would have lost by 20. But the fact that Russell Westbrook, christian Brown, aaron Gordon they all stepped up and were huge, it gives you such hope of what this Nuggets team can be.
Speaker 1:Russell Westbrook his numbers don't even do justice to what impact he had on the game. He had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, and just the energy that he brought, I don't think there was any way that he was going to let them lose that game last night. We mentioned in our previous episode that Russ played for the Clippers last year and this was a bit of a revenge game for him. I think he kind of made that point when he had one of his steals in the second half and the Nuggets were already up by 30 and he just dunked it so hard on a breakaway steal and just kind of hung on the rim and swung on there because he was trying to get a technical, because he knew that he was going to turn to the crowd and just pump them up and pretty much cuss out the entire Clippers fans and bench and just pretty much ignite ball arena. And I loved every second. It was so fun. I was so happy for him. He's had his ups and downs this season, but that is exactly why we got Russell Westbrook and it's incredible to think that he's doing what he's doing for us on a minimum contract. So I loved it. That was a Russell Westbrook masterpiece and the fact that it was in game seven makes it even more perfect.
Speaker 1:Christian Brown he hit huge shots. He guarded James Harden. He does all the little things for us and you can just see his growth game after game. His shot is getting more confident. He has become such a weapon on the fast break. He's kind of racking up these assists now like just making these little pocket passes or finding the open guy on the wing and it's just so fun that obviously it was a big deal to lose KCP. But Christian has stepped up and been incredible and I think he's just getting better and better.
Speaker 1:And then AG Mr Nugget, what a warrior, like he still, I think, is bothered by that calf and he doesn't have his full athleticism. But man, he battled Kawhi last night and he just shut him down. Really, kawhi is going to hit his shots because he's amazing. But Aaron was there every step of the way. He was incredibly physical with them. He gave it right back to him on the offensive end and AG was amazing. So those three guys on top of Jokic and Murray still contributed a little bit, but not nearly what I thought they were going to, led to an absolutely fantastic victory.
Speaker 1:It was very nice to have a nice, easy win and not have a heart attack at the end, although I will say the bench came in and quickly gave up like a 12-0 run. So we had to put the starters back in and I loved it. Coach Alderman was not messing around. He put the starters back in and said no, just shut this down, let's move on to round two. And that's exactly what they did. And so, as I was thinking about this game last night and this morning, really there was so many reasons why that win last night was huge, and so I'm going to count down from number five to number one of why I thought that one victory was will change so much, not only how we talk about certain players on this team, but also this team for the next couple of years on what they'll look like. So, number five obviously we advanced to the next round. We still have a shot technically at the championship this year. Now we'll talk about this in a few minutes we have to play the thunder, but we are still alive and have a shot, and that's all we need.
Speaker 1:Number four David Adelman. If it were me, I think this series victory clinches the fact that he should get a shot as the full-time coach next year. I think the players respect him. I think he's shown that he can handle in-game situations really well and it's just. He's a great change of pace and it might be exactly what this team needs as far as he is amazing as a tactician, like. From everything I hear from reporters, from the players, it really sounds like he does amazing at preparing the players, coming up with plays that will work against specific situations on the other team, and it seems to be working. So I think David Adelman should be our coach next year.
Speaker 1:Not only that, I think this series victory this is my number three reason I think we need to keep the core four together. I know that's crazy, but this team shows that they work so well together. They know what each other is thinking after all these years of playing together. If they were healthier and we had any sort of a bench which again thank you, calvin Booth and Michael Malone for that disaster of just making sure we did not but if we had any sort of bench where these guys could get through the regular season healthy, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be a championship contender again, and so I really think this series showed that they deserve another year. But give them another year with veteran players that can eat up some minutes in the regular season, veteran players that can handle a bench unit and not just lose 12 points in two minutes every time they come in. Give them any sort of help, and I think this team can be dangerous for hopefully this year, next year, years moving forward, and so I think it was huge that I really think the core four should stay together.
Speaker 1:Number two I think this was huge for the Russell Westbrook legacy. He's one of the best players to never win a championship and, like I said, I think the Thunder are going to make that extremely difficult this year. But I think this allows Russ to maybe stay on the team next year and, like I said, with a little bit more well rounded of a team next year, this team could be extremely dangerous and I really think Jokic and Murray, they want to give Russ that championship and kind of be the crown jewel at the end of an amazing career. And number one, of course, is Jokic's legacy. It was kind of sneaky but this would have been a big yeah.
Speaker 1:But when people were talking about the greatness of Jokic, he of course was our best player and leader last year when the Nuggets lost to the Timberwolves in game seven. Now, it wasn't necessarily his fault. He had an amazing game. The others kind of fell apart around him, but he was part of it. He. He got extremely tired and couldn't keep up with, uh, carl Anthony Towns and Nas Reed and all those big guys. And if one of the greatest players ever were to lose two game sevens on this home court two years in a row, it would have been a tarnish on an argument to make him one of the greatest players ever. So obviously I'm glad they won. But I really do think that this kind of flips that narrative completely where, even though he wasn't the greatest in this game seven, he obviously is our rock and was huge on defense and the fact that we did win that game seven now makes the nuggets four and two in the yokich era game sevens and he's averaging 26, 12 and seven in those games and so he is obviously the main catalyst to all those victories and even in those losses he's had amazing games. So I would say, just for Jokic's legacy, that game was huge last night and, like I said, who knows what's going to happen in the next game? It could be even bigger for his legacy if he's able to pull off the upset against the Thunder.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about the Thunder. I think the Thunder were sitting at home and they were probably the Clippers' biggest fans, because I don't think they want any part of the Nuggets. Now I'm not saying that they shouldn't be favored, and if you look at some of the sports books they are huge favorites but I think the Nuggets are a tougher matchup for the Thunder. Now, the reason I say that is all the reasons why the Clippers lost against the Nuggets. Kawhi he is great in his own way, but he does not take over games like Jamal Murray can. He does not take over games like Jokic can.
Speaker 1:The Thunder. They have some size, but they don't have anyone like Zubac to handle Jokic. Jokic should have a much easier time in the Thunder series than in the Clippers series. Zubac was absolutely amazing in the Clippers series. He played incredible defense. Jokic was obviously getting frustrated and hats off to him. It was one of the best one-on-one defensive performances against Jokic I've ever seen.
Speaker 1:But the Thunder don't have that and, uh, trust me, I fully admit that this series could go horribly, horribly wrong for the Nuggets. Just off the top of my head. A, the Thunder are amazing at basketball. That's a good place to start. The Thunder are well-rested. They swept Memphis as fast as you possibly could and they've been sitting at home. If they had any injuries, I'm sure they're healthy by now. And the Thunder are deep, they can play their full roster and it's all quality, quality basketball players. The Thunder have the home court advantage. That will obviously help not only to start the series off at home but if it does go deep, they'll have that game five and game seven at home as well. And the thunder, technically, if you if you follow the votes this year have the mvp, uh, but we, we shall see who the real mvp is. So I fully admit the thunder are the favorites and in most scenarios the Thunder will win this series.
Speaker 1:But Nuggets fans, there is hope. The Nuggets have so much more experience. The Thunder are definitely a team that is up and coming. Their team is pretty much all young guys and while they have a little bit of experience, it is nothing compared to what the nuggets have been through the last couple years. Like I said, the game sevens, the championship run, just the overall playoff experience, is definitely on the nugget side. I think that makes a big impact in the playoffs, because playoff basketball is so different than the regular season. Uh, the thunder 68 wins in the regular season is incredible, but it's a whole different sport in the playoffs and I don't think they got a good taste of that against Memphis.
Speaker 1:The Memphis series was pretty much just say glorified scrimmage. Memphis was falling apart in so many ways and then they lost jaw and it was pretty much over. So the thunder, they they could be rusty. Um, they've been sitting at home for a long time. The nuggets are going to be. They're they could be rusty. They've been sitting at home for a long time. The Nuggets are going to be, they're going to be tired, but they're going to be kind of in shape, on point, with all their mental and physical just really the stress that they've had to go through the last couple of days and weeks. They are going to be ready to flip that switch a little bit easier than the Thunder, I'm hoping. And really the Nuggets are peaking. Like I said, adam took over with three games left in the regular season and now we're seven games into the playoffs. That's 10 games, and it feels like the Nuggets have just gotten tighter as a unit. They've kind of found that joy again. Tighter as a unit, they've kind of found that joy again. They really just seem like they're finding different ways to not only execute in the games but also prepare for games, and it's a beautiful thing because it's not just Jokic, it's been more of a team effort.
Speaker 1:Since Adelman took over, adelman's been impressive with his in-game substitution patterns. He's been impressive with just the decisions that he makes as far as how to play certain defenses. I've just been really impressed with him. We mentioned Christian Brown, has been peaking. Peyton Watson, the last couple of games, has even been putting in some good minutes, so I'm hoping he gets a little bit more time during the Thunder series as well.
Speaker 1:And then, like I said, our defense. Our defense was terrible in the regular season and I don't know if it's just because it's the playoffs now or if it's something that Adelman is doing, but our defense, especially in those last couple of games against Clippers, was pretty incredible. I think the play that really demoralized the Clippers was I forget who was driving into the lane, but they had a nice little pass to Zubac. Zubac was going up for a dunk and Jokic just blocked him. The Nuggets grabbed, the ball, ran out and I think Murray got a layup on the other end. I think that just goes to show you that Jokic, with his quick hands, his basketball IQ and then you even get plays like that with his, his athleticism he can play some defense on the backend and it's making a big, big difference for the nuggets.
Speaker 1:So I mentioned that Zubach played amazing against Jokic and the thunder. While they are long, they are not big. Chet Holmgren is seven feet tall and extremely skinny, but he's an amazing shot blocker. So they brought in Isaiah Hartenstein to give them a little bit more size, a little bit more beef and then hopefully have Chet kind of roaming around to be able to block Jokic's shot when the Nuggets are on offense. And so this theory of defense has technically worked for both Minnesota and the Lakers in the last couple of years.
Speaker 1:But Jokic he does figure it out, and I'm really interested to see, just with this combination, how it's going to work in the playoffs for the Thunder, just to see if Jokic is able to kind of slice right through it and they have to try something else, or if it's a somewhat impactful. And so I think that's gonna be one of the big keys to the series. And then my biggest reason for hope is we have Nicole Jokic and Jamal Murray. I think nobody rises to the moment bigger than those guys, and the fact that we were able to win this last series with each of them, um, I would say each had one fantastic game and in the other games they were pretty much themselves, like it wasn't as if they had incredible performances all across the board. And so if we do get a series where each of them steps up and has two, three incredible performances, then I think the Nuggets have a shot.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I think it's going to be extremely tough. The Thunder are a great team, but my prediction, as I mentioned at the very beginning, the Nuggets don't know how to do anything but play seven game series. So this series is going seven and, even though it's in Oklahoma City, the Nuggets will win in seven and move to the Western Conference Finals. Thank you so much everyone. We will have a podcast again later this week to talk about the first couple games of the Oklahoma City Thunder series, and I am so excited for it. Go Nuggets.
