As Northwest Division rivals whose coaches worked together for 132 games, there’s very little that the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder don’t know about one another.
That familiarity is likely to breed plenty of contempt during a best-of-seven playoff series that will start Sunday in Oklahoma City.
“We have a lot of people that know each other,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “The secrets of the series are going to be gone pretty quick. It’s just going to be, ‘Let’s go beat each other up and see who wins.’ ”
The Thunder, coached by former Denver assistant Scott Brooks, won the season series 3-1 but the Nuggets aren’t lacking for confidence after winning 19 of their final 25 games to reach 50 wins for the fourth consecutive season.
“I think what we have right now is a team that respects our opponent but we don’t have a lot of fear of our opponent,” Karl said.
Here is an in-depth look at how the teams match up heading into a series that promises to be fast-paced and physical:
PREDICTION:Coaching and the high altitude prove to be the difference as the Nuggets steal a game in Oklahoma City and hold on for a 4-2 series win.
