Following the Nuggets’ thrilling comeback victory in game one of their playoff series against the Clippers on Saturday, everyone in Denver is feeling extremely happy. After falling behind 15 points in the first half, Denver fought back to force overtime and ultimately won 112-110 in a game that will go down in history at Ball Arena.
In many ways, it felt like the Nuggets stole this one in the end, even though LA had the lead for the majority of the game. They outworked and outhustled the Clippers at the most crucial parts of the game and came up with every key play in the closing minutes.
Russell Westbrook’s play played a significant role in the hustle, intensity, and comeback. In this game, Russ was outstanding. He came up big in the closing minutes and made David Adelman keep him on the floor until the final quarter and overtime.
That choice was the right one, and it was obviously justified given Westbrook’s play, but Michael Porter Jr.’s graphic performance made it much simpler. Before being benched for the entirety of the crucial period, MPJ only played 26 minutes, made one shot, and scored three points.
With nothing from MPJ, the Nuggets cannot win this series.
They were successful in the first game, but this cannot continue to be the case. This team relies heavily on Porter Jr.’s shooting, spacing, and scoring to stay competitive, especially on offense.
It wasn’t just that he wasn’t making shots in this game; it was also his overall lack of energy and activity. It was easy to forget he was even on the floor at times because he was just not involved. He was just having no effect on the game, and he appeared to accept his fate and simply stop playing when he came up against strong off-ball defense from players like Kawhi Leonard.
Without all of their best players performing well, the Nuggets lack the depth to defeat strong opponents, and Mike is one of them. He receives far too much compensation to be a supporting player who is benched at the conclusion of games. This time, the crew managed to avoid a bullet, but it must never happen again.
You can’t count on Westbrook to win every game.
Beyond that, the Nuggets cannot just assume that Westbrook is their new closer. We are aware of the fluctuations in the Russ experience. Although we had a nice game in the first one, we can’t predict what the following one will have. When things go wrong, David Adelman must be ready to fire Westbrook, which is most likely going to result in his return to MPJ.
Porter Jr. may have a difficult opponent, but he is too skilled and too large to be totally eliminated. He must put forth a lot more effort and join the offense. It’s okay if he ends up shooting 3/14 on the night due to dribble-hand-offs and screens. Bad shooting is something we can all tolerate. However, it is unsatisfactory that he only made four tries during a playoff game.
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