
3:30 PM EST, ABC – Line: Warriors -4.5, Over/Under: 224.5

While one team stands one a game away from booking passage to the Western Semifinals, another is staring into the abyss of elimination, as the Golden State Warriors look to complete the sweep of the Denver Nuggets in this, Game Four of their First Round Series from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. After spending the bulk of the last four months of the regular season merely treading water (26-23 since late December) as they afforded their stars all the time needed to return to full strength, the Warriors (53-29, 3rd in Western Conference) may have entered their first postseason in three years as a veritable question mark, though if their performance thus far has been any indication, that’s no longer the case. Indeed, through three games it appears that Golden State is edging closer to the side that advanced to FIVE consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three Larry O’Brien trophies along the way. So, what has changed for the Dubs, you ask? Well, as we already stated, it certainly helps that they are finally at strength for the first time all season. After missing the entirety of the past two seasons due to ruptures in his ACL and Achilles, (All-Star Swingman) Klay Thompson (20.4 PTS, 42.9% FG, 38.5% 3FG, 90.2% FT, 3.9 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.5 STL, 16.7 PER) missed the first THRITY-EIGHT games of the schedule rehabbing from the latter malady, with (Head Coach) Steve Kerr and his staff monitoring him closely the rest of the way, participating in thirty-two of the final forty-four contests. And then there is (defensive dynamo) Draymond Green (7.5 PTS, 52.5% FG, 29.6% 3FG, 65.9% FT, 7.3 REB, 7.0 AST, 11.3 STL, 1.1 BLK, 14.3 PER), who after earning his fourth All-Star nod would go on to miss TWENTY-NINE consecutive games with an ailing back. Capable of defending nearly every position on the court, the 2016-2017 Defensive Player of the Year also serves as the team’s creative fulcrum in the halfcourt, leading the Dubs in assists in each of the last seven seasons, with his absence from January to early March (16-13) depriving the rotation of arguably it’s most indispensable talent. Add a late foot injury to (reigning scoring champion) Steph Curry (25.5 PTS, 43.7% FG, 38.0% 3FG, 92.3% FT, 5.2 REB, 6.3 AST, 1.3 STL, 21.4 PER) and the Warriors’ big three only started ONE game together all season, which is nothing short of remarkable. Fortunately, they’ve been firing on all cylinders in this series against the Nuggets, shooting an overwhelming 54.2% from the field, including a torrid 44.3% from beyond the arc, and dishing out a very healthy 29.7 assists in the process. Thompson looks as close to his championship form as he has in years, averaging 22.0 points on 50.0% shooting, and netting 14-of-31 triples through three games (45.2%), while Curry has spent the bulk of this affair coming off the bench as sixth man, posting 25.7 points per game 55.3% shooting, and 11-of-25 from downtown (44.0%). As for Green, the multitalented leader of this outfit, has had his fingers in literally everything, with 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks, all the while doing his best to vex Denver’s Nikola Jokic (more on him shortly) on the defensive end of the hardwood. However, the biggest takeaway from this series hasn’t been any member of the big three, but rather the emergence of (young Guard) Jordan Poole (18.5 PTS, 44.8% FG, 36.4% 3FG, 92.5% FT, 3.4 REB, 4.0 AST, 0.8 STL, 16.1 PER), whose star turn may be the biggest component of their success at this point. It’s been nothing short of a remarkable story for the 22-year-old, who after being selected 28th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, spent much of his rookie campaign in the G-League, before making the most of his opportunity in Thompson’s absence, eventually earning the trust of Kerr and his teammates, becoming an irreplaceable part of the starting lineup. Ask the Nuggets how they fell about this kid, who has utterly TORCHED them for 28.7 points on 66.7% shooting, including 13-of-22 from three (59.1%), along with 3.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in this series. Harking back to their famed Death Lineup from their glory years, Kerr has preferred to field Curry, Thompson, Green, and Poole, alongside a resurgent Andrew Wiggins (17.2 PTS, 46.6% FG, 39.3% 3FG, 63.4% FT, 4.5 REB, 2.2 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.7 BLK, 15.0 PER) to create a new lethal small-ball combination that has created a wealth of mismatches for their opponent. In Game Three’s 118-113 triumph in the Rocky Mountains, Curry, Thompson, and Poole combined for EIGHTY points on 28-of-48 shooting (58.3%), including 12-of-27 from long range (44.4%), along with ten assists. However, when you decide to go small for long stretches, you open yourself up to the opportunity of being bludgeoned in the paint and on the glass, but that was NOT the case for the visiting Warriors, who despite being outrebounded on the whole of the matchup (44-30), came up with a pair of CLUTCH offensive rebounds inside the final two minutes of play, leading to a dagger floater from Poole to extend their lead to 114-111. Two possessions later, Green would strip Jokic of the basketball on a post-up at the right elbow, leading to a transition opportunity for Poole, who was then sent to the charity stripe to ice the affair altogether. In the end, both sides shot the ball 50.0% or better, but Golden State’s prowess from the perimeter proved once again to be too much for the hosts to handle, as the visiting side owned a commanding 21-point advantage from three (+48 on the series), while Denver’s eighteen turnovers turned into nineteen points for the Dubs, which also played a sizeable role in besting them on the break (12-3). A win today would mark their first venture into the second round of the playoffs since 2019, and the first in which they managed to sweep an opponent since dispatching the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals of that same year. Under Kerr’s watch, his troops are a 18-7 in close-out games, and 6-2 when presented with an opportunity to sweep their opponent.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets (48-34, 6th in Western Conference) once again find themselves up against it, in the familiar position of facing a sweep. Last year’s playoff run ended with a lifeless ending at the hands of (eventual Western Conference Champion) Phoenix, and it appears that history is about to repeat itself once more, as Golden State has them one game away from spending their summer in Cancun. While that destination may be appealing to some, it’s nothing short of a disappointment for a team that harbored legitimate championship aspirations coming into the campaign. Two years removed from a surprise run to the Western Finals in the Bubble, Denver entered 2021-2022 looking to advance even further only for a pair of debilitating injuries to set back the course of their ascension dramatically. First and foremost, Denver has been without the services of (sharpshooting Guard) Jamal Murray for the entire campaign after the 25-year-old tore his ACL in the latter stages of the previous season. Compounding matters is the loss of (promising Forward) Michael Porter Jr. (9.9 PTS, 35.9% FG, 20.8% 3FG, 55.6% FT, 6.6 REB, 1.9 AST, 1.1 STL, 7.5 PER), who was relegated to just nine games after agreeing to a lucrative 5-year, $172 million extension, with a third back surgery sidelining him until next season as well. Needless to say, those absences have been hard to stomach for (Head Coach) Michael Malone and (General Manager) Tim Connelly, who continue to see (reigning MVP) Nikola Jokic (27.1 PTS, 58.3% FG, 33.7% 3FG, 81.0% FT, 13.8 REB, 7.9 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.9 BLK, 32.8 PER) consistently perform at a ridiculously high level; the 27-year-old Serbian international has been arguably even better than his trophy-winning campaign, posting career-highs in a slew of categories including points (27.1), field goal percentage (58.3%), two-point percentage (65.2%), rebounds (13.8), steals (1.5), and blocks (0.9), along with an NBA-best PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 32.8, which is his second consecutive season leading the league in that particular statistic. How good has Jokic been, you ask? Well, that PER is the highest for a single season in NBA history, breaking the record set by none other than Wilt Chamberlain back in 1961-62. Needless to say, anytime you manage to top the Big Dipper, you’re doing something right. However, no matter what the four-time All-Star has managed to do in this series, he and the Nuggets have been at a severe disadvantage, particularly against the Warriors, who have bested them at every turn. A year ago, the tandem of Murray and Porter combined for an average of 40.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.0 steals, with both players providing precious perimeter shooting and spacing at 40.8% and 44.5% respectively, which gives you an idea as to how shorthanded Denver is at the moment. Basically, it’s as if they’re in a street fight with one hand tied behind their back. Despite getting 29.3 points on 52.2% shooting, 13.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game from Jokic, (Head Coach) Michael Malone’s troops have been THOROUGHLY outplayed in this series; Denver has been outscored by an average of 13.6 points, and by a margin of 16.0 points from beyond the arc, with their defense getting burned on 54.2% shooting from the field, including 44.3% from downtown. Simply put, this series has been played at the Warriors’ pace and tempo, and as presently constructed the Nuggets don’t have the weapons to get into a shootout with them. After getting blow out of the water in Games One (123-107) and Two (126-106), Game Three proved to be a much closer affair at Ball Arena, even if the outcome was no different. After falling behind by as many as twelve points in the first half, the hosts rallied back after halftime, outscoring the visitors 30-18 in a third quarter in which they slowed the tempo down, shooting 12-of-20 from the field (60.0%), while holding the Dubs to 5-of-15 shooting (33.3%), with Jokic and (veteran Forward) Aaron Gordon (15.0 PTS, 52.0% FG, 33.5% 3FG, 74.3% FT, 5.9 REB, 2.5 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.6 BLK, 15.3 PER) combining for sixteen points, eleven rebounds, and five assists. Indeed, the two big men really took advantage of their size, utilizing a two-man game in the post that their opponent seemed helpless against, though that well would indeed run dry in the final stanza, as the home side could muster just 5-of-16 shooting (31.2%), including 2-of-9 from three (22.2%), with half of their points (24) coming from the free-throw line (12-of-12). After briefly taking a 111-109 lead with 3:20 left to play, the Nuggets were outscored 9-2 the rest of the way, shooting a woeful 1-of-6 (16.7%) with three turnovers, one from Jokic, another from Gordan, and another an inexplicable shot clock violation. Walking away from this one, it’s difficult to shake the feeling that if Denver was going to win one in this series, it HAD to be this one; the hosts enjoyed advantages from the charity stripe (+4), on the glass (+14), in steals (+2), and points in the paint (+6), while keeping it close in assists (-4) and points off turnovers (-4). However, they’re inability to come up with a defensive rebound when they absolutely needed afforded their opponent the opportunity to make them pay, and as we’ve seen on too many occasions, the Warriors are far too talented offensively to be gifted second and third looks in crunch time. When it was all said and done, Jokic finished with THIRTY-SEVEN points on 14-of-22 shooting (63.6%), along with eighteen rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Gordon added eighteen points on 7-of-13 shooting (53.8%), twelve rebounds, and four assists of his own. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as this franchise looks towards a summer in which they hope they can get the aforementioned Murray and Porter back to full health so that they can finally become the championship contender that they’ve long fashioned themselves to be. For after all, it’s certainly a shame to waste Jokic’s brilliance.