By: Naman "Tiny" Buch
The Oklahoma City Thunder last year gave the NBA the most exciting series of last year no only in the 1st round but, I would say in the entire playoffs. Thunder crowds were raving and cheering loudly for the 3rd youngest team in the NBA. After nearly scaring Los Angeles in 6 games, the question became can Oklahoma City compete year in and year out at a high level? Well the Thunder have proven that this is true, as the Thunder have improved from 50 wins last year to 55 wins this year, and a division title. On the other side the Denver Nuggets were expected to have a big step back after their big mid-season trade of Carmelo Anthony, but the opposite occurred. The Nuggets acquired several pieces including Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov. After giving up mainly their 2 big names in Melo and Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets have become a more well rounded team, though without a legitimate superstar.
Keys for the Nuggets to win the Series
The Nuggets with the loss of Melo have become a better offensive team in my opinion. The Nuggets led the league in scoring with 107.5 ppg and have become a team with many more options than a go to guy down the stretch. The Nuggets went from having many isolation sets with Melo to being a team that ran the ball down the court a lot more often. The Nuggets have become a considerably deeper team and can go easily 10 deep in the playoffs. There is no team as deep as the Nuggets, except for maybe the Bulls. The Nuggets have so many solid options its hard to say which player stands out more than the other. For now I would say their go to guy is Nene. Nene has benefited more looks now that Melo has left, and should look to build on this during the playoffs as he matches up against different Thunder big men. Another option that has gotten more looks is Wilson Chandler. Chandler in New York was having a great season averaging 16 ppg and 6 rpg. Chandler provides a good shooter to the Nuggets, and the ability to over match some of his defenders. The biggest key I believe will be the Nuggets depth. They do go 10 deep, and with the Melo trade have become even better than they were before. JR Smith, a great shooter and scorer provides a big spark off the bench and has been the entire year. Raymond Felton who was a starter for the Knicks and was even considered to be a possible All-Star is coming off the bench and will be key in running the offense with starter Ty Lawson. Danilo Gallinari when he is healthy will provide a great shooter off the bench and will be looked to hit big shots down the stretch in many games. Chris Andersen provides a big spark off the bench in his energy, defense and rebounding. As for the starters Ty Lawson is becoming a more complete point guard in his 2nd season in the league. Aaron Afflalo who is a bit injured will look to also get shots and be another option for the Nuggets. And Kenyon Martin will look to be the veteran of the team and lead the defensive charge for the Nuggets.
Keys for the Thunder to win the series
The Thunder have benefited from a huge breakout year from Russell Westbrook and along with Kevin Durant will be the main keys for the Thunder. Durant is the leagues scoring champ for the 2nd year in a row. His numbers have slightly been down because of the emergence of Westbrook, but Durant will still be the go to guy for this young Thunder team and will continue to get his shots. Westbrook is a big reason, even bigger than Durant maybe for their improvement this year into one of the top teams in the West. Westbrook has improved in almost any statistical category and is leading the point for this very potent Thunder offense. Westbrook will look to get to the basket and penetrate into the Nuggets defense and will get to the line very often. Both Westbrook and Durant get fouled a lot and get to the free throw line as much as any player in the NBA. Both Westbrook and Durant will capitalize on these opportunities as both shoot 84 and 88% from the Free throw line. Other than that the Thunder have benefited from the mid season trade of Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic for Kendrick Perkins. Kristic didn't fit as a member of the Thunder team and Jeff Green wasn't a prototypical 4 that the Thunder needed, especially after the continuing improvement of Serge Ibaka. With Perkins the Thunder will able to match up well against any team with a big man and Perkins also provides much needed Finals experience to this young Thunder team. Perkins should see looks but hasn't really clicked with the Thunder during the regular season, because of his injuries and foul trouble due to his aggressive play. The Thunder easily have the best big man rotation off the bench and will look to use it many times in the playoffs. With veterans Nick Collison, and Nazr Mohammed the Thunder will able to use different rotations in the playoffs to create matchup problems. The Thunder also have a very capable young point guard in Eric Maynor who will see minutes and has handled the Thunder offense very well. James Harden seems destined to start eventually, and provides the biggest spark and scoring threat off of the Thunder bench. With Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder have their best defender and will be used against the opposing teams best defender. Thabo will have an increased role in what looks to be a deep playoff run for the Thunder, and should be the pesky defender he is, just like last year against Kobe Bryant.
Both of these teams are young and are very capable of putting up points in a hurry on the scoreboard. The Thunder is a little more experienced then the Nuggets are and will look to build on last years post season into one of the top teams in the West.
Prediction: Thunder in 6 games
Rating: 4.5/5 (This in my opinion is the most exciting series with both fan bases being very loud, it should be very entertaining. All the games should be competitive and very high scoring)
Game 1: Sunday April 17, Denver @ Oklahoma City 9:30 PM EST ESPN
Seize the day people.
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