What the Denver Nuggets have figured out about the Warriors

1. Game 4 was far and away the most locked in the Nuggets have been on the defensive end of the court all season.

2. Part of game plan discipline is knowing how to change the emphasis based on who is on the court. When Gary Payton III is on the court, the Nuggets have to be willing pack the paint and dare the ball to find him. Allowing Steph Curry to get an open shot in the paint just can’t happen.

3. In the clip below, you can see just how hard they are willing to sell out in order to keep Jokic from attacking from the low block. This is the equivalent of trapping Curry at half court. While it makes it near impossible for Jokic to score against this overload, it should almost always lead to an open shot on the kickout if Denver can create and execute a cohesive game plan.

4. The Nuggets have also played through Jokic at the nail a lot in this series.

5. I just love the game within a game that Jokic and Draymond have going.

6. Jokic can probably learn a few things from Draymond. Both players play through dribble handoffs a lot but both do so in very different ways. This sprint to flip the angle on the DHO was brilliant.

7. I would look to get Draymond switched off of Aaron Gordon as often as possible when Draymond is playing PF.

8. The value of Bones Hyland was on full display in game 4, and not just because he was making his three-point shot.

9. The challenge for him will be finding the appropriate amount of aggressiveness when Jokic is on the court with him as opposed to when he is on the court with the bench.

10. I think the Nuggets can attack with Will Barton has the ball handler more in PnRs with Jokic. He has to make good decisions and knock down his mid-range pull-up but it gives the Nuggets another option for getting Jokic involved in the offense without Draymond mucking up the paint.

11. The Nuggets ran this action late in the game and should’ve gotten the perfect switch. Monte turned it over but I suspect it will be an action that the team goes to again in game 5.

12. Another play that I expect the Nuggets to run again in game 5, only I also suspect a completely different read to be available now that the Nuggets got a dunk out of it in game 4. Also, Austin Rivers did a great job as the playmaker on this difficult pass.

13. And here is yet another play that I think we will see in game 5 that will likely have a different option available than what they got below. Watch how Bjelica is cheating on this play, but not cheating quite enough. In game 5, my hunch is that AG will need to fake the high-low pass and punish Bjelica with a one-dribble dunk.

14. The Nuggets seemed very prepared for how the Warriors would guard the Nuggets in a late-game situation if Draymond fouled out.

15. One of my favorite things Jokic does is waste the running clock late in games when the Nuggets have the lead.