Injuries abound as depleted Thunder and Nuggets clash. Key matchups emerge, including containing Jamal Murray and exploiting Denver's zone defense.
Oklahoma City and Denver face each other for the first time since they went the distance in the 2025 Western Conference Semifinals. Unfortunately, both teams are far from full strength. Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso remain out for the Thunder, while the Nuggets are missing Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun.
Check out three key matchups in this rematch between title contenders.
Limiting Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray may become an All-Star for the first time in his career, as he’s averaging 25.8 points per game on 62.3% true shooting. Only eight players across the NBA match or exceed both marks.
Murray finding his rhythm is significant for Denver because he can keep the team afloat in the minutes when Nikola Jokić rests. Therefore, containing Murray’s dribble and limiting his shot attempts are key goals for the Thunder.
Luguentz Dort will be the primary defender on him. Murray has struggled mightily to score efficiently against Dort in recent years, which bodes well for the Thunder. However, Murray has had success against Cason Wallace. Perhaps Mark Daigneault should consider aligning Dort’s minutes more closely with Murray’s.
Thunder’s Ball Movement and Perimeter Shooting
Christian Braun performed at a high level when defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the playoffs, but the Kansas product is sidelined for this matchup. Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson would be decent options to switch onto Gilgeous-Alexander in late shot clock situations. Again, both players are out.
Who is guarding Gilgeous-Alexander tonight? Peyton Watson? Spencer Jones? Jalen Pickett? Those are not exactly inspiring choices given Gilgeous-Alexander’s unique skill set. Since Denver lacks elite, lengthy point-of-attack defenders to throw at the reigning league MVP, it may play more zone defense than usual with Jokić and Jonas Valanciunas on the court together.
If this is the case, then Oklahoma City’s offense must pass the basketball with intent, attack gaps in the defense and shoot a competent percentage from beyond the arc. Accomplishing these feats would dismantle Denver’s zone defense and force the Nuggets to live with Gilgeous-Alexander getting to his spots at will.
Peyton Watson’s Scoring
Will the real Peyton Watson please stand up?
He has largely been a negative offensive player throughout his short career, but Watson is showing tremendous growth in a contract year.
He enters this contest having averaged 22.1 points per game on 48/44/71 shooting splits over his past 16 games. Now, all but one of those contests were sans Jokić, so he had freedom to experiment with the basketball. It remains to be seen whether this stretch was a fluke. If not, then Denver has another postseason scorer who can knock down triples and finish at the basket.