Subscribe
Follow Us
Although it once appeared as though there would be no NBA Playoffs this year as a result of the ongoing “coronavirus” pandemic, the Denver Nuggets won the first postseason game of the year on Monday afternoon en route to taking down the always dangerous Utah Jazz in thrilling fashion. With Denver now officially up 1-0 over the Jazz in the opening round of the playoffs, the Nuggets did need overtime to down Utah in Game 1.
Even though the Nuggets did ultimately secure a 10-point victory on Monday afternoon, this Western Conference clash was a lot closer than the final score suggests. With the Nuggets serving as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference as the Jazz closed out the regular season as the No. 6 seed, it wouldn't be surprising if it took more than four or five games to eventually decide this series.
With these two teams kicking things off in entertaining fashion, the play of both the Nuggets and Jazz offered up a few key takeaways from Game 1 down in Orlando.
1. Offense won't be a problem for the Nuggets and Jazz moving forward
It is no secret that the Western Conference has seemingly always been known for producing a ton of offense. Such a notion has certainly escalated even further over the course of the last several seasons. While overtime was involved on Monday afternoon, the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz combined for a whopping 260 points in Game 1 as offense clearly won't be an issue for this tandem moving forward.
With the Nuggets taking Game 1 by the score of 135-125, it was guard Jamal Murray that paved the way with 36 points and nine assists as All-Star center Nikola Jokic poured in 29 points and 10 rebounds of his own. Even in a losing effort, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with an impressive 57 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as his effort and production down the stretch of regulation forced overtime to begin with.
If NBA fans learned one thing from Monday afternoon's Game 1 matchup between the Nuggets and Jazz, it is that the offense will keep coming throughout this series. It will surely be difficult for Utah to keep up with the amount of options that Denver has, but Mitchell will absolutely need to keep leading by example if his team has any chance of stealing this series.
Someone other than Mitchell will be forced to chime in, however, as the Jazz guard is unlikely to score just shy of 60 points every time he takes the floor against the Nuggets.
2. Defense will still be a major factor for both the Jazz and Nuggets
While offense no doubt reigned supreme on Monday afternoon in Orlando, defense will remain an important piece of the puzzle for both the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz as this series progresses. Both of these teams can absolutely rain from behind the arc. Each also has a threatening option down low with Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic still slated to play major roles for their respective teams this postseason.
Because of the various ways in which these teams can score, it is essential that the Nuggets and Jazz each hunker down on defense in Game 2 and beyond. The score would not dictate that there was much defense played in Game 1, though defense was ultimately the reason that this game eventually reached overtime as Jokic was denied at the end of regulation.
Such a stop could have very easily given the Jazz a slight edge heading into the extra period as Utah no doubt switched the momentum entirely in their favor down the stretch as guard Donovan Mitchell just couldn't miss to the tune of 57 points. In addition to the solid defense played in the paint late in the game, the fact that both of these teams can shoot the lights out from three-point range will have to force the opposition on each end to defend all the way out to the arc.
If shooters for the Jazz and Nuggets are going to get repeated open looks from three-point land, every single game in this series will be incredibly high scoring. While that would definitely bode well for those watching from home, it would swing this series way in favor of the Nuggets, as the Jazz have limited options in comparison to a the very deep and extremely talented Denver roster.
3. The Nuggets are clearly the better team — plain and simple
There is just simply no way that Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell can score 57 points day in and day out — it's just not feasible. Not only that, though, but Mitchell scored nearly 60 points against the Denver Nuggets on Monday afternoon with his team still managing to lose the game by double digits.
The Nuggets proved that they are just a better team at this point in the season as Denver is incredibly deep, has multiple options to go to in crucial situations and can beat you in a variety of different ways. On the other hand, the short-handed Jazz really only have Mitchell as a legitimate scoring threat.
Even though center Rudy Gubert remains one of the best at his position in the game — especially on defense — the absences of big man Ed Davis, sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic and point guard Mike Conley, Jr. will continue to hinder Utah as Denver has way too many options to choose from.
Whether it is guard Jamal Murray, forward Michael Porter, Jr. or big man Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets will be able to keep pouring it on against a Jazz team that unfortunately doesn't have enough firepower to keep up for a full seven-game series. If the Jazz can steal a game before Conley Jr. eventually returns to the bubble following the birth of his child, perhaps his return could even up the sides a bit more for the back-end of this series. As it stands today, there is a real chance that Conley Jr. misses up to three games to begin this series while a 3-0 series lead in favor of the Nuggets would pretty much bury Utah.
