Bench Mob

With game seven coming up in the Nuggets vs Spurs series, it’s time to take a look at the series as a whole, and how these seemingly mismatched teams have made it to seven games.

The Nuggets and Spurs are obviously a mismatch, but just how much of a mismatch are they?

The Nuggets were the 2nd best team in the West this season, finishing 54-28. They were bottom ten in offense but were a top ten team defensively. They exceeded expectations greatly, mainly due to Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray’s continued improvement and stardom. People had/have high expectations for the Nuggets entering the playoffs, and so far they’ve kind of disappointed. The Spurs are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but the Nuggets should have closed this out already, but they find themselves going to Game 7 against one of the most defensively sound and well-coached teams in the NBA.

The Spurs, on the other hand, finished 7th in the Western Conference, finishing 48-34. Like the Nuggets, they were a bottom 12 team offensively but were a top 12 team defensively. The addition of DeMar DeRozan has essentially replaced the loss of Kawhi Leonard. It’s a downgrade, but thanks to the help of some out-of-nowhere talents like Derrick White, the loss of Kawhi, and the linear game of DeRozan hasn’t been as detrimental as it could have been. The Spurs will rely on players like White to make the impact in Game 7.

What’s kept this series so close? Has it been the stars? The reffing? I don’t think so. I think it’s mainly been the bench, and here’s why.

The better bench has resulted in 4 of the 6 wins in this series. Here’s a breakdown for you.

Game 1

Spurs Win: 101-96  |  Spurs Bench: 31 PTS  |  Nuggets Bench: 22 PTS

Game 2

Nuggets Win: 114-105  |  Spurs Bench: 23 PTS  |  Nuggets Bench: 23 PTS

Game 3

Spurs Win: 118-108  |  Spurs Bench: 19 PTS  |  Nuggets Bench: 50 PTS

This is the one game where the bench didn’t have a major impact, but Derrick White did. While the Spurs bench did basically nothing, Derrick White dropped 36 points. This game was the outlier of the series.

Game 4

Nuggets Win: 117-103  |  Spurs Bench: 34 PTs  |  Nuggets Bench: 36 PTS

Game 5

Nuggets Win: 108-90  |  Spurs Bench: 28 PTS  |  Nuggets Bench: 39 PTS

Game 6

Spurs Win: 120-103  |  Spurs Bench: 36 PTS  |  Nuggets Bench: 13 PTS

The benches, in my opinion, have played a key role in how this series has played out. Both teams have strong benches, but its come down to a matter of which one produces more. (thanks, Captain Obvious).

It will be a very tight and very good game tonight, and its time to separate the benches, from the men.