Denver

Nuggets

Westbrook was on the injury report for Game 7 against the Thunder with a hand injury, and he announced that the surgery will repair two breaks in his right hand. There’s no reason to think this will impact his status ahead of training camp, but it does help justify his struggles over the final five games of Denver’s series against Oklahoma City. Westbrook has a $3.5 million player option and could choose to run things back with the Nuggets for another season.

Adelman took over for Michael Malone as the interim head coach with three games left in the regular season and led the Nuggets to Game 7 against the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs. Adelman, 44, has been an assistant coach with the Nuggets since 2017 and is the son of former NBA coach Rick Adelman. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon publicly lobbied for Adelman to be made full-time head coach in the aftermath of the Nuggets’ loss to the Thunder. According to Charania, the Nuggets were impressed with Adelman’s work as the interim head coach and will take some time before hiring a new general manager.

Give Porter credit for playing through the left shoulder injury he suffered during the first round. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, he struggled in this series outside of a 21-point effort in Game 3. Remove his 5-of-6 effort from beyond the arc in that overtime victory, and Porter was 4-of-30 from three. Game 3 was also the only contest in which Porter surpassed 10 points and was one of two games where he scored in double figures. We’ll likely receive a more definitive answer regarding the severity of Porter’s shoulder injury in the coming days, now that Denver’s season is over. And the Nuggets’ front office (whoever is hired to be the new lead executive) will have some questions to answer this offseason regarding the roster makeup. Despite his perceived upside, MPJ has mainly been a middle-round player in standard leagues during his NBA career. Fantasy managers can expect more of the same in 2025-26.

After providing limited offensive value in the first five games of the series, Braun upped his production in the final two games. While it wasn’t enough to help the Nuggets advance, the third-year guard’s play should encourage the front office heading into the offseason. In Games 6 and 7, Braun scored 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting from the field, and he was also responsible for 15 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and five three-pointers. During the regular season, Braun exceeded his Yahoo! ADP (133) by a significant margin, as he was nearly a top-50 player in nine-cat formats and ranked just outside the top 75 in eight-cat. He should be a top-100 pick in standard league drafts next fall.

Dealing with what was reported as a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, Gordon shocked many by playing in Sunday’s game. Give him credit for attempting to play through the injury, and early on, it appeared as if the Thunder weren’t willing to test Gordon’s health thoroughly. While effective as a rebounder, the Nuggets forward could not provide much else in his 25 minutes on the court. The defeat gives Gordon time to recover from his hamstring injury, and he should be good to go when training camp opens in September. Gordon has primarily been a late-round player in Denver, and that’s unlikely to change in 2025-26, even with his improvement as a perimeter shooter this season.

Initially probable for Sunday’s game due to illness, Murray was a shell of himself in Game 7. He shot 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and offered little value outside of reaching double digits in points. After scoring 25 points or more in three of the four games prior, Murray likely expected more of himself with Denver’s season on the line. From a fantasy standpoint, this was an excellent season for the Nuggets guard. Entering the season with a Yahoo! ADP of 54, he was a top-25 player in eight-cat and top-20 in nine-cat formats. That should boost Murray’s ADP heading into drafts next fall, likely making him a player to target late in the third round of standard-league drafts.

Jokic and the Nuggets ran out of gas against one of the NBA’s deepest teams, with things turning in the second quarter. Leading by five entering the period, Denver was outscored by a 39-20 margin, thanks partially to Oklahoma City’s strategy adjustment. They went small, using Alex Caruso on Jokic, and the move worked. While some may argue that the Thunder guard was allowed to be a bit more physical than usual, it’s on the three-time MVP to adjust. It was a disappointing end for The Joker, who remained the top option in fantasy basketball this season. While Victor Wembanyama (if healthy) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will also deserve consideration for the top pick in redraft leagues, Jokic should be the preferred option for many fantasy managers.

Westy and Murray were both listed as probable for Sunday’s pivotal matchup, so it’s no surprise that both will take the court. Expect both guards to handle their typical workloads.

Tyson has been upgraded to available, but it’s unlikely he sees many minutes. He’s been out of Denver’s rotation throughout the playoffs.

Gordon will surprisingly take the court after being diagnosed with an injury that should have kept him out for multiple weeks. How many minutes he plays and how he looks will be things to keep an eye on throughout the winner-take-all contest.