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Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing to take on a Denver Nuggets team they’re unfamiliar with, riding the high of a Game 7 blowout win against the Los Angeles Clippers. After a 4-0 sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Thunder will prepare for Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who split their regular-season series 2-2 against Oklahoma City. However, those matchups aren’t as valuable as some would perceive.
For Daigneault, the postseason brings out new versions of opponents, which he alluded to before the Thunder’s opening-round series against the Grizzlies.
“It’s like I said before, the Memphis one regular-season games have to be taken in the context of the regular season. Availability has a lot to do with it,” Daigneault said. “There was a game Gordon didn’t play for them. And then, there [are] contextual factors like schedule, the Chet thing, he was just coming back. You can learn from all those games. They’re all data points, but it’s not a direct through line to a playoff series. A playoff series is very different.”
That line of thinking takes on new meaning considering the Nuggets relieved coach Michael Malone of his duties weeks before the playoffs. Nuggets’ interim head coach David Adelman took over before guiding his team to a seven-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
“It gives you a great understanding of how they play against the Clippers, but it doesn’t give you a great understanding of how they play against us,” Daigneault said. “It’s something we can learn from, but this series will have its own face, and unfold in its own way. Like every other series, we have to be prepared, understand the things that aren’t going to change, and then be able to adapt to the things that are.”
Alex Caruso, Thunder prepare for Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
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The Thunder will have their hands full with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Thunder guard Alex Caruso addressed it before Game 1.
“Jokic is in that tier of players, along with Shai and a handful of other guys in the league, where they’re just going to kind of get their numbers,” Caruso said. “I’ve talked about this in the past, where if you do a great job on guys of that caliber, they’ll probably get their averages. And if you don’t, they can go for headline stuff. The biggest thing is just making it tough on him.”
On Monday, Mark Daigneault and the Thunder host the Nuggets in Game 1 at the Paycom Center.
