The Oklahoma City Thunder have been biding their time and now finally know it will be the Denver Nuggets they face in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies aside while the Denver Nuggets needed seven games to dispatch the Los Angeles Clippers. The age old rust vs. rest debate will certainly come in to play for Game 1.
Oklahoma City hasn’t played since April 26 while Denver will go from a Game 7 against the Clippers on Saturday to Game 1 of the second round on Monday.
From a narrative standpoint, fans can’t ask for much more than the two MVP favorites colliding. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in scoring and Nikola Jokic had one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history.
What this series will likely come down to is who can be better between the co-stars and benches. Jamal Murray has shown signs of his playoff best and will need to outplay Jalen Williams.
Depth has been a concern for the Nuggets all season but they got huge performance down the rotation to win Game 7. The Thunder, on paper, have a significant advantage in this area.
The games aren’t played on paper, though, so below is how to can watch all the action unfold.
How To Watch Thunder Vs. Nuggets
Game 1: Monday, May 5 @ 9:30 p.m. EST, TNT
Game 2: Wednesday, May 7 @ 9:30 p.m. EST, TNT
Game 3: Friday, May 9 @ 10:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Game 4: Sunday, May 11 @ 3:30 p.m. EST, ABC
Game 5 (if necessary): TBD
Game 6 (if necessary): TBD
Game 7 (if necessary): TBD
Series Format/Bracket
Each series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This means the team with home-court advantage hosts the first two games, along with Game 5 and Game 7 (if necessary). The weaker seed will host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).
The winner of Thunder-Nuggets will face the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ matchup against either the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors. The Rockets and Warriors play Game 7 in Houston Sunday night.
Thunder Vs. Nuggets Season Series
The Thunder and the Nuggets split the season series, 2-2. Two of the games came in the first month of the season while the latter two came in March with the MVP race at peak intensity.
Oct. 24: Thunder win, 102-87, in Denver.
Nov. 6: Nuggets win, 124-122, in Denver.
March 9: Thunder win, 127-103, in Oklahoma City.
March 10: Nuggets win, 140-127, in Oklahoma City.
