The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder have traded blows and turned in what could go down as an all-time great NBA playoff series through six games. Which players will be the difference makers in Game 7?
There is bad news and good news for NBA fans regarding Sunday afternoon’s game between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The bad news is that the series is ending. There will be the conference finals and NBA Finals, but, in all likelihood, the best series of the 2025 playoffs will be over. It’s been a master duel between a team that’s climbed the mountain before and one that has looked like the favorite to go all the way this year.
The good news is this series has gone the distance, meaning it only ends after a winner-take-all Game 7, in which the 68-win Thunder are unsurprisingly favorites at home. Yes, the Thunder won Game 2 by a thousand points but this was a series meant for seven games.
Game 7s are always fun but especially when they feature two teams that are legitimate title contenders. OKC has been that since Day 1 of the postseason and remains on top of our predictions with a 56.2% chance of winning the NBA title entering Game 7. Denver, meanwhile, will see its 7.1% chance spike if it can clear one more massive hurdle in this series. There are still adjustments that will be made, but both teams have played most of their cards already.
With one game left and most of the moves already made by the coaching staffs, this game is going to come down to execution. And the beauty of a winner-take-all game is that any player can be the hero, from the superstars to the last rotation player. One team can make better decisions and rotations, but the last player off the bench on the other team hits five 3s and its opponent’s season is over anyway.
With that in mind, we’ve broken down each group of players and how they could take over the game and end up as the swing players in Game 7. We don’t know who it will be, but we do know how it could happen.
Stars Align
The best player in the NBA and the likely MVP have not disappointed in this seven-game series, even against defenses that have done great jobs game planning and executing against them.
Nikola Jokic is averaging 29.8 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in the series, and it’s hard to say the Thunder have done anything but a remarkable job on him.
If you think that’s hyperbole, consider this: Over the past three seasons, Jokic has averaged at least 7.2 assists in every one of his playoff series prior to this one. He’s only averaging 5.7 assists per game in this series.
He’s also averaging his worst effective field goal percentage in a series over the past three postseasons. So, the Thunder are making him a less effective passer without letting him score more efficiently. That’s a powerful combination.
The Thunder have done an excellent job sending help from his blind spots and made him look less decisive than he had in years early in the series. But, as the series has gone on, Jokic has gotten to his spots a little easier. He’s still not having success in the post as a scorer or passer, which is extremely rare. The Thunder are clogging the lane and using their athletes to cover the play behind them.
But, as well as the Thunder have mixed up the timing of their help, Jokic has gotten more comfortable with their defense. In the first three games of this series, Jokic turned the ball over a combined 21 times, the most turnovers he’s coughed up in a three-game span in his career (regular season or postseason).
In the three games since, he’s turned it over just five times combined, tied for his fewest ever in a three-game postseason stretch within the same season. The Thunder heavily rely on live ball turnovers to get their offense going, and Jokic has stopped giving them any.
There aren’t many adjustments left for the Thunder defense, other than cleaning up the occasional play where they get stuck in the middle trying to help.
This read is a layup for Jokic. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helps but doesn’t commit fully to the help and leaves enough room for a pass to the strong side corner within Jokic’s eyeline. He might as well just give Julian Strawther a free shot from the corner.
The Thunder have still made things harder for Jokic than any team in recent memory, and he’s had some bad shooting games in the series. They’ll have to hope for another one in Game 7 and a takeover from their superstar in Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander has looked the part of an MVP in the postseason, and his numbers for this series are mostly in line with his regular season production, with the exception of his 26.9% 3-point shooting.
The Nuggets will try to make SGA beat them with 3s, but teams have been trying that all season and he still manages to get to the lane. The help has to come early on his drives, and he’s excellent at finding shooters or safety blankets on the baseline. The first couple of games of the series, Isaiah Hartenstein looked weirdly out of sync on the baseline, but he’s back to deploying a reliable short floater and Gilgeous-Alexander will use him when he’s open.
The Nuggets are playing as much zone as possible to try to keep Gilgeous-Alexander out of the lane, and they’ve had more success in zone than man as a result. SGA is still making the right plays but will need more shot-making and finishing at the rim from his teammates to really bust the Nuggets zone.
Support Staff
Part of the reason the Nuggets have had success in the zone is the subpar play of the Thunder’s complementary stars.
There isn’t a ton to analyze with Jalen Williams; he’s simply missing shots. He’s shot 10 of 43 from the field and 2 of 14 on 3s in the last three games.
His decision-making is still sound, but it seemed to finally be taking a toll on his confidence in Game 6. Williams missed a dunk and went up somewhat soft on two transition attempts that should have led to points and instead led to a miss and a block.
The Nuggets aren’t going to leave Williams open because he’s too good of a player, but they are gambling in leaving him with more space amidst his struggles. All it takes is a few early shots and Williams could get on a roll and be the difference in Game 7.
Chet Holmgren started the series struggling as well but has quietly been steadier the past two games. He’s a combined 11 for 14 on 2-point shots; he just struggled shooting 3s in Game 6. But he’s a difference maker on the baseline when he’s engaged against the zone.
Both of these players’ lives will be easier if Aaron Gordon is unable to play or limited for the Nuggets after injuring his hamstring late in Game 7. Any lingering effects for Gordon (especially if they lead to his absence) would be a huge blow to the Nuggets. He’s been an essential part of their success on both sides of the ball. Even last game when he was a non-factor scoring, he tied his career-high with seven assists in a postseason game.
Going into the series, it seemed like the Nuggets desperately needed Jamal Murray and Gordon to outplay Williams and Holmgren offensively, and they’ve done that through six games. If Gordon can’t be a difference maker in Game 7, Murray is going to have be really good.
We’ve talked about what a revitalized Jamal Murray would mean for the Nuggets, and he’s vacillated between peak Jamal and something a step below that throughout the playoffs. But he, like Jokic, looked more comfortable attacking the formidable Thunder defense in Game 6.
The Thunder are leaving driving lanes for Murray on the pick-and-roll because they refuse to help off Jokic at all to help contain Murray. They are letting Murray drive into the paint and having their bigs come off their men and challenging him when he gets near the rim.
Murray struggled with the help a bit early in the series but had some well-paced drives and finishes last game. And he’s starting to use ball fakes to bait the Thunder defense when it’s in rotation. The Thunder are always eager to get ahead of the next pass, and Murray is the Nugget who is most effective at using that against them.
A lot will be on Murray’s shoulders in Game 7 and it hasn’t been easy for him this series. He’s been guarded by some of the best perimeter defenders in the game, including the nightmare-inducing Alex Caruso. But it wouldn’t be the first time a Jamal flurry decided a playoff game.
Hartenstein has been solid enough throughout the series and admirably taken the punishment that Jokic doles out. Luguentz Dort has found himself as the odd man out in key moments for most games except for a crucial stretch in Game 5 when his jumper was falling.
It’s been a coming out party for Christian Braun, who had an amazing season that fell a bit under the radar. His fearlessness has been really important for the Nuggets in moments where their offense has stagnated. Michael Porter Jr. is clearly not healthy, and the best the Nuggets can hope for from Porter are some made 3s.
Bench Pressed
While the secondary stars have been an advantage for the Nuggets, the bench has been an even bigger advantage for the Thunder for much of the series.
It’s no surprise that the Thunder have gotten better bench play as depth has been a strength for them all year while it’s been hard for the Nuggets to get to even eight players they trust.
The Thunder bench turned the tide in Game 4 with made 3s, and Caruso in particular has been everything the Thunder could’ve hoped for in a close series like this when they traded for him.
The Nuggets have started to figure out that the Thunder bench is better shooting 3s than driving and has been particularly brazen about not helping on them on the baseline. Caruso and Cason Wallace both missed a decent look at the rim badly within a minute of each other in the fourth quarter in Game 6 after good passes from Gilgeous-Alexander.
That’s part of Holmgren’s importance to this team. When he’s in the dunker’s spot, the Nuggets have to be mindful of lobs or easy finishes inside for him. When it’s Caruso or Wallace, they can help and recover and make those players beat them inside.
But you can’t mention Caruso and Wallace and not talk about their perimeter defense. Their tenacity has allowed the Thunder to stay out of rotation more often than any other team. When the Thunder have their stretches where they look like the best defense in the world, it’s usually Caruso and Wallace leading the charge, helping at the right times, navigating screens, knocking balls loose and being generally nasty.
The Nuggets would love to have those kinds of defensive playmakers on the bench. Peyton Watson has had some defensive moments but is a non-factor offensively. The Nuggets’ other two rotation players are both frenetic defenders who often end up as a negative on that end.
It should be noted that chaos agent Russell Westbrook has flummoxed the Thunder a couple of times on defense by taking gambles that are so unexpected they blow up the Thunder’s plays because they don’t see him coming. But, after a good first series and solid first two games of this series, Westbrook has struggled mightily in games 3-6.
Julian Strawther may be Westbrookian on defense without the playmaking aspect, but he can catch fire from the perimeter and did just that in Game 6. He’s a knockdown shooter when he’s set and open, and he gave the Nuggets some desperately needed tip-of-the-spear play. He earned a chance to be a hero once more in Game 7 with another hot streak. And Game 6 proved it could be him or anyone else that ends up as the player who puts his name in the annals of NBA history.
For more coverage, follow along on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
Nuggets-Thunder Preview: Which Players Will Decide Game 7? Opta Analyst.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Nuggets-Thunder Preview: Which Players Will Decide Game 7? )
Also on site :
- Harris Dickinson On The Inspiration For Cannes Directing Debut ‘Urchin’ And Why Upcoming John Lennon Role Is His “Every Day Right Now”
- Pursuit of stolen car ends with suspect crashing in North Highlands
- Podcaster Calls for 'Trigger Warning' After Cassie's Violent Testimony