This past Sunday the Nuggets fell short of their second Western Conference Finals appearance in the last three years, as they lost Game 7 of their playoff series matchup against the Thunder. After falling 125-93, many defeated players gave a similar argument about fatigue being an issue.
Aaron Gordon was convinced that his team needed more rest between games to guarantee better and more competitive basketball during the postseason. “I would really, really appreciate it if there were a couple of days off in-between games in the playoffs,” he expressed postgame.
The 29-year-old believes more time between playoff contests will be beneficial in the long term. “Just to give all these professional athletes one more day of rest and you would see a higher level of basketball,” Gordon said after scoring 8 points in 24 minutes of play against Oklahoma City.
Sunday’s match was also head-to-head clash of MVP frontrunners Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, who wasn’t able to produce his regular magic and finished the game with just 20 points, as rival Alex Caruso hounded the Nuggets big man throughout the floor.
The Serbian big man didn’t mince his words when asked what Denver needed to come back next campaign as a true title contender. “We definitely need to figure out a way to get more depth,” the 30-year-old said after earning just nine rebounds and seven assists in their Game 7 loss.
The MVP candidate then explained why a deeper roster can help especially during playoff contests. “It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, the longer benches, are the ones who are winning. Indiana, OKC, Minnesota,” the Nuggets center assured last night.
Oklahoma City‘s 125-93 victory came with a huge lesson, proving how a suffocating defense can beat any team. There’s no wondering why the Thunder club had led the league this regular season in forced turnovers with 17.0 per game and in steals (10.3).
