There won’t be a sweep in this first-round series matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets. Will the Warriors finish it in five games? Or will the Nuggets extend it for another contest? Check out our preview below of this Nuggets vs. Warriors 2022 NBA Playoffs matchup.
It’s going to take an extraordinary effort from the Nuggets to pull off a series win. But at leats they made sure they’re not going to end up winless in the playoffs. Nikola Jokic and company refused to go silently into the night in Game 4, with the Serbian putting up 37 points to go with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. And he also got the support he was looking for, as Monte Morris and Aaron Gordon put up 24 and 21 points, respectively. Bones Hyland had 15 points off the bench, while Austin Rivers collected 5 steals. Finally tasting a win again should fire up the Nuggets, who are no strangers to defying long odds. After all, they’re the only team ever in the history of the NBA to overcome 3-1 series deficits in back-to-back fashion when they had that kind of run in the Orlando bubble in 2020.
The Nuggets are 10-3 against the spread in their last 13 road games.
There’s nothing to make the Warriors push the panic button just yet. Many put the cap on Denver’s number of wins in the series at one, and the Nuggets have already hit that quota. Plus, the Warriors are going back home for a golden chance to close out the series this Wednesday. In Game 4, Klay Thompson scored 32 points while the other half of the Splash Brothers duo, Steph Curry, came off the bench and fired 33 points. For the Warriors to be competitive even without starting Curry says a lot about how lethal this team is, and that’s got a lot to do with the ascension of Jordan Poole. While Poole scored just 11 points in Game 4, he’s someone who could explode on any given night. He is third on the team with 24.3 points in the series while also shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Gordon and Morris had great performances in Game 4 but Poole is way more consistent than either of those Nuggets.
The Warriors are 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games overall.
