{"id":80864,"date":"2025-06-06T13:37:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/80864\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T13:37:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:37:22","slug":"nba-playoffs-whats-at-stake-for-thunder-vs-nuggets-in-game-7-its-do-or-die-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/80864\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Playoffs: What’s at stake for Thunder vs Nuggets in Game 7? ‘It\u2019s do or die’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thunder vs. Nuggets<\/a>. Downtown Oklahoma City. Sunday afternoon on ABC. Game 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buckle up, folks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s do or die,\u201d Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> said after OKC\u2019s loss at Denver in Game 6<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s what you live for, what you work your whole life for. Either your dream continues or your dream ends, so you leave it all out there on the floor and live with the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The short-term stakes, as SGA summed up, are enormous. A Thunder win equals progress \u2014\u00a0a Western Conference finals appearance. And a loss? Immense disappointment. An opportunity spoiled. Not a setback, but a stall out.<\/p>\n

As for the long-term stakes \u2026 are we sure there are long-term stakes?<\/p>\n

You might be cursing me under your breath for a take so cold that it\u2019s actually sneaky spicy, but since when is Sam Presti<\/a> a rash decision maker? We\u2019ll get to that later.<\/p>\n

First, the short-term stakes.<\/p>\n

REPORT CARD: Thunder vs Nuggets grades: Julian Strawther, foul trouble spell trouble for OKC in Game 6<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) waits to be introduced during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May, 7, 2025.<\/p>\n

If the Thunder wins Game 7 \u2026<\/p>\n

Maybe OKC is clutch. We questioned the Thunder\u2019s clutch gene, or lack thereof, after fumbling away Game 1 and no-showing in overtime of Game 3. But then the Thunder outlasted the Nuggets in a rugged Game 4 on the road and stormed back in the fourth quarter to take Game 5 at home. Nothing would quell the clutch concerns quite like winning a Game 7.<\/p>\n

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MVP validation for SGA. This one is admittedly stupid, but I can already hear the whir of the take machines. If the Nuggets win, can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander really be the MVP? Stop it. Nikola Jokic<\/a> is the best player in the world. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the best MVP case. Both things can be true. It\u2019s a regular-season award! Also, SGA will be one of the last to blame if the Thunder loses this series. If the Thunder wins, we\u2019ll all be spared from this conversation.<\/p>\n

The path is wide open. I booked NBA Finals hotel reservations in two cities: Boston and Cleveland. I\u2019ve already canceled one of them. By the time you\u2019re reading this, I might have canceled the other. New York and Indiana are no joke. Neither is Minnesota. But there were three dominant teams this season, and the Thunder could be the last of them remaining. The Thunder is built to be a long-term championship contender, but it may not have a more manageable route to a ring than this one.<\/p>\n

REQUIRED READING: How OKC Thunder gave Denver Nuggets hope in Game 6, ‘most dangerous thing’ in NBA Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Denver<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) gestures after drawing a foul for colliding with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) during Game 2 of the NBA playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Oklahoma City won 149-106.<\/p>\n

If the Thunder loses Game 7 \u2026<\/p>\n

Regular season schmegular season. No one is going to care what the Thunder does in the 2025-26 regular season. Not after a 68-win season and the best point differential of all time resulted in a second-round exit. The Thunder could win 70 games next season and the response would be a collective shrug. Prove it in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Experience matters. Of course the Thunder was too young and inexperienced to pull this off. Nothing to do about this one except sit back and wait. Get older, wiser and better.<\/p>\n

Who are the real playoff guys? I wrote about Jalen Williams after his Game 6 dud. Chet Holmgren still isn\u2019t the Chet Holmgren he was before he broke his hip \u2026 but consider that he broke his hip. It still looks like he\u2019s playing catch up, especially offensively. And what are we to make of the Thunder\u2019s 3-point shooting falling off a cliff in the playoffs?<\/p>\n

MUSSATTO: OKC Thunder needs more from Jalen Williams to oust Nuggets from NBA Playoffs in Game 7<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DENVER,<\/p>\n

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 15: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets reacts as Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during the third quarter in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 15, 2025 in Denver, Colorado.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s at stake long term if the Thunder wins Game 7?<\/p>\n

Momentum. After losing in Round 2 last season to Dallas, making the Western Conference finals would mark the next step. Even if the Thunder went on to lose in the conference finals, you could talk yourself into feeling good about OKC\u2019s postseason moxie entering what would be a third playoff run next season.<\/p>\n

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What happens to Denver? The Nuggets have already fired general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone. David Adelman has surely done enough to shed his interim tag as head coach. But expect roster moves in Denver. The Nuggets have to add more depth.<\/p>\n

Changing of the guard out West. Minnesota has now made back-to-back West finals appearances. The Thunder\u2019s reign atop the West could just be beginning. Houston and San Antonio are coming.<\/p>\n

CARLSON: Thunder falls into cauldron of a Game 7 after failing to eliminate Nuggets in NBA Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s at stake long term if the Thunder loses Game 7?<\/p>\n

Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors. The photoshops of Giannis in a Thunder jersey are a tad premature, wouldn\u2019t you say? This is how it goes, though. No one could outbid Oklahoma City if Antetokounmpo wants out of Milwaukee. We could talk about Giannis\u2019 fit and what the Thunder would have to give up, but I\u2019d rather not. Not right now.<\/p>\n

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Trade deadline regrets. Not saying the Thunder has any for its passivity. I liked that OKC stood pat. BUT WHAT ABOUT CAM JOHNSON??? The Thunder could still go get him in the offseason if Sam Presti thinks he\u2019s the missing piece.<\/p>\n

The window can close quickly. Just look at the Celtics. They went from a possible repeat to now \u2014\u00a0with Jayson Tatum\u2019s Achilles injury \u2014\u00a0falling out of contention not just for one year but likely two.<\/p>\n

5 TAKEAWAYS: OKC Thunder fails to close out Denver Nuggets, sending series to Game 7 <\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at\u00a0jmussatto@oklahoman.com<\/a>. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a\u00a0digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA Playoffs: Game 7 is ‘do or die’ for SGA, Thunder vs Denver Nuggets<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thunder vs. Nuggets. Downtown Oklahoma City. Sunday afternoon on ABC. Game 7. Buckle up, folks. \u201cIt\u2019s do or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,45,46,366,305,686,301,123,292,113,364,77,763,102,307,6,11,253,302,378,475,3136,969,209,3460],"class_list":{"0":"post-80864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-celtics","11":"tag-chet-holmgren","12":"tag-cleveland","13":"tag-dallas","14":"tag-denver","15":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","16":"tag-houston","17":"tag-indiana","18":"tag-jalen-williams","19":"tag-jayson-tatum","20":"tag-julian-strawther","21":"tag-milwaukee","22":"tag-minnesota","23":"tag-nba","24":"tag-nba-playoffs","25":"tag-nikola-jokic","26":"tag-nuggets","27":"tag-okc","28":"tag-oklahoma-city","29":"tag-sam-presti","30":"tag-san-antonio","31":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","32":"tag-western-conference-finals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114636694874556734","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}