Sir Charles in Charge
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Denver Nuggets: Inexperience, lack of Nikola Jokic prove costly in Game 1

By Tron Griffin

DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 13: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets is guarded by Jakob Poeltl #25 and Lamarcus Aldrdge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs in the third quarter during game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 13: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets is guarded by Jakob Poeltl #25 and Lamarcus Aldrdge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs in the third quarter during game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Nuggets must find a way to get Nikola Jokic more than nine shots or they will lose the series to the San Antonio Spurs

The 2019 NBA playoffs is off to a hot start with a couple of early surprises on the first day. The playoffs started with two upsets as the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers loss their home opener followed by the San Antonio Spurs going on the road and defeating the Denver Nuggets.

The upsets were good news for the league since many fans and media members feel the NBA playoffs are too predictable largely due to the seven game series that favors the top seeded teams.

For the Nuggets, who finished with the second best record in the Western Conference; yesterday was their chance to show the doubters that they are for real and can compete with the Golden State Warriors, but the Spurs showed them the importance of having an experienced team come playoff time.

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The Nuggets had a chance to tie the game with about seven seconds remaining, but the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray mistakenly collided with the Spurs Derrick White and lost the ball.

A play earlier, Murray missed a wide open 16-foot shot that would have given the Nuggets a one point lead with about nine seconds remaining.

The win in Denver gives the Spurs home-court advantage which is not a huge deal for most No. 2 seeds playing against a 7th seed, but for the Nuggets who finished with a 20-21 record on the road during the regular season; the loss was huge.

The Nuggets cannot afford to lose game 2 and go down 2-0 to a Gregg Popovich team before heading to San Antonio. The Nuggets must find a way to get Nikola Jokic more involved in the offense before the Spurs double team him.

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The double team was only effective because the Nuggets kept missing wide open shots which only encouraged the Spurs to keep doubling Jokic. So the Nuggets getting Jokic more involved in the offense starts by making open shots. Jokic must take more than the nine shots he took in game 1 for the Nuggets to win the series. And Murray must play better down the stretch.

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