OKC Thunder: 3 keys to claiming victory versus Nuggets

OKC Thunder key number 2: Nuggets depth

Even with the loss of Jerami Grant, Torrey Craig, and Mason Plumlee the Nuggets still boast a deep squad.

While Jamal Murray hasn’t been close to 100 percent this season he can pull out a 50 point performance on any given night. When that’s combined with the efforts of Jokic, Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., and Gary Harris (again when healthy) it equates to a robust offense.

Denver ranks fifth offensively and scores the third-most points (116) per game even in spite of all their health issues this season.

Part of this is due to the depth and the constancy of the roster and systems. The majority of the emphasis remains on their two stars Jokic and Murray but again, they have a host of other players who have to be defended because a number of them can get hot and become the third scoring option.

Denver’s bench ranks seventh scoring 37.8 points per game while the Thunder reserves rank a respectable 13th scoring 36.7 ppg.

At issue is whether the Thunder will be able to dress more than the bare minimum of eight players. Moreover, the big question is how fatigued the club is given they played two overtime games in recent days.

Hopefully, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be able to suit up because Gary Harris has missed games recently and is the best guard defender. If Harris remains sidelined it would open the door for SGA to have a big night.