In his first play -off game like NBA head coach, Nuggets -Schipper David Adelman made a fascinating choice. He chose to close the game with the volatile Russell Westbrook about Michael Porter Jr., who had struggled during the game. That decision has paid off, when Denver Game One won 112-110 in extension against the Los Angeles Clippers.
During the fourth quarter and the overtime, Westbrook oscillated between moments of brilliant and head-scratching decisions. I broke the wild end of Westbrook on this play -off game on my YouTube channel.
Westbrook was 10 points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime, causing a corner to sink three to lead Denver late in the fourth quarter. His energy immediately appeared from the screen, while Westbrook blew up on the defense and crashed the offensive glass hard. He effectively sealed the game in the extension with his defense and stealed an incoming pass intended for Harden.
The shaky decision -making of Westbrook, however, almost costs Denver the game on several points. At the last game of the regulations, Westbrook caught the basketball with open space and the clock tapped. Unlike the previous property, Westbrook didn’t even try a shot and the Nuggets went to extension.
In addition to Westbrook’s coupling corner Triple, he missed the rest of his four 3-Pointers in the fourth and overtime hours. The presence of Westbrook changes how the clippers can play defense. Kris Dunn roamed the entire coupling period of Westbrook and challenged him to shoot and blow up actions without being afraid of his scoring.
Denver barely won their first play -off game and benefited from the high variety Game State Westbrook. There is enough room for the clippers to play the game plan and to take advantage of this in the future, but more focused on withdrawing and continuing to generate great appearance of deep. We will see how both teams adapt to the presence of Westbrook in this series.
