WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS | #4 OKC Thunder (55-27) vs #5 Denver Nuggets (50-32)
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OKLAHOMA vs. DENVER PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 17 at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. EST, TNT
Wednesday, April 20 at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m. EST, TNT
Saturday, April 23 at Denver, 10:00 p.m. EST, ESPN
Monday, April 25 at Denver, 10:30 p.m. EST, TNT
*Wednesday, April 27 at Oklahoma City, Time & TV TBD
*Friday, April 29 at Denver, Time & TV TBD
*Sunday, May 1 at Oklahoma City, Time & TV TBD
(*-if necessary)
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Odds To Win Series
Oklahoma City -205
Denver +175
Odds To Win Western Conference
Oklahoma City +600
Denver +1500
Odds To Win NBA Title
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER +1200
DENVER NUGGETS +3000
Injuries of Note: Denver: Arron Afflalo – G – Day-to-Day (sore hamstring)
Danilo Gallinari – F – Day-to-Day (sprained ankle)
Nene Hilario – F – Day-to-Day (groin injury)
Ty Lawson – G – Day-to-Day (sprained ankle)
Timofey Mozgov – C – Day-to-Day (ankle injury)
OKC: No Injuries to report
Season series: Oklahoma City – 3-1
The Thunder are led by the league’s leading scorer in Kevin Durant, scoring 27.7 points per game on 46.2 percent field goal shooting. It’s the second straight season that Durant has led the NBA in points. The Thunder took three out of four games straight up with the Nuggets this season, and Durant was a major reason why. He scored 126 points in the four contests, including 44 on Christmas Day. The 44 Durant poured in was the second-highest single total in any game he played this season.
The last two victories for the Thunder happened in early April, meaning it was after the Carmelo Anthony trade. This accounted for just two of their six losses from March 1 through the rest of the season for Denver. This will be the fourth ever post-season series between these two franchises since Denver joined the NBA in 1976. It is the first time, however, that the Thunder will face the Nuggets – the previous three series contested saw the Denver playing the Seattle SuperSonics.
Ty Lawson has been one player that has seen an upswing in minutes and productivity since the Anthony trade. Lawson scored a career high 28 points in the April 5 loss, which snapped Denver’s 10-game home winning streak at that moment. The Nuggets are appearing in the NBA playoffs for an eighth straight season – only Dallas and San Antonio have a longer stretch of post-season berths. 
The Thunder were also active at the trade deadline, acquiring Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson from Boston. Perkins has had the impact the Thunder had hoped for on the glass, helping Oklahoma City improve by season’s end to 42.8 RPG, good for seventh best in the NBA as a team. That’s also just slightly more than Denver’s 42.0 RPG, so look for the battle on the boards to be a key factor in these games.
These are also two of the highest scoring teams in the league: Denver finished first at 107.5 PPG, while the Thunder were fifth at 104.8 PPG. The Nuggets shot the ball at 47.6 percent from the field, third best in the league, and sank three-pointers at a 38.9 percent clip. The Thunder finished with a field goal percentage of nearly 47 percent, good for tenth best in the NBA. They shot the three-ball at 34.7 percent efficiency.
Denver loves to get out in front early. When they led at halftime this season, they are 35-8; they are 39-7 when leading after the third quarter; in games when they score over 110 points, they are 29-4, including 22-1 at home.
J.R. Smith is someone the Thunder need to be aware of – in the 25 games that followed the Anthony trade, Smith saw his points rise from 11.2 to 14.5 PPG, and his field goal percentage increased to 45.2 percent.
Russell Westbrook has really grown into the role of point guard and number two scoring threat for Oklahoma City. Westbrook played in all 82 games this season for the Thunder, finishing second on the team in scoring at 12.9 PPG and leading with 8.2 assists per contest. Westbrook also showed he can be clutch at critical times, shooting 84.2 percent from the free throw line.
Betting Prediction: Oklahoma City – While the Nuggets have been a better team the last two months since dealing Carmelo Anthony away, getting great play from a team that plays unselfishly for the good of the team, the Thunder have been a solid team all season long. They are playing will a great deal of confidence, and appear poised to take the next step as a franchise. Denver will keep it interesting, and if you are looking for a low-scoring series, then you should probably watch something else. Figure on each team to defend their home court well in this series too.
Pick: Oklahoma City in 7
Matt Martz is a sports writer for the Bakersfield Californian, the Oregonian, the Springfield Republican, and the Utah Spectrum. Blessed is the gambler who expects nothing, for ye shall not be disappointed.
