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The Denver Nuggets lead the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals despite OKC being heavy favorites to win the West. Both of the Nuggets’ wins were due to late-game OKC collapses, and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault needs to take his fair share of the blame.
But what has Coach Daigneault done in these games to lead to these disasters?
Fouling Too Quickly in Game One
With under a minute left, OKC seemingly had the game wrapped up, all they had to do was keep their three-point lead.
Denver gave them countless chances to maintain their lead, such as benching Nikola Jokic with under 15 seconds left. If Coach Daigneault hadn’t told them to foul Denver, it would have forced Denver to make a game-tying three without their best player on the court.
OKC deserved to lose. Horribly managed the end of that game. So dumb to foul up 3 when Jokic was OFF THE FLOOR AND THE NUGGETS HAD NO TIMEOUTS.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 6, 2025
Because OKC fouled within 2-3 seconds every time Denver had the ball, it left multiple opportunities for OKC to mess up, such as turning the ball over or missing free throws. Denver got their chance to take the lead when Chet Holmgren missed both free throws. If Coach Daignault trusted his number one-ranked defense more in the clutch, they would’ve likely taken the Game 1 victory.
Daigneault’s Questionable Rotations
Despite Alex Caruso’s heroic Game One performance with 20 points, six assists, five steals, and two blocks, he has only played 33 minutes since then. Also, in Game 3, Coach Daignault chose to play Isaiah Joe for just three minutes and Aaron Wiggins for 13 minutes.
In a game where OKC shot 25.7% from three, it would make sense to play two of your best shooters more minutes, instead of playing Luguentz Dort 34 minutes, who shot just 16.7% from the field that game.
Poor Challenge in Game Three
Coach Daigneault decided to challenge a play in which Isaiah Hartenstein fouled Jamal Murray on a jumper. Immediately, it was clear that this challenge would fail. Hartenstein hit Murray on the arm while shooting, and the refs took hardly any time to decide the call, turning it into a pointless challenge.
In the playoffs, losing a challenge to an obvious call is inexcusable, especially in a matchup this physical, where there can be many questionable calls late, a challenge can change the game.
I hate how Mark Daigneault has managed these end games for the Thunder.
Blew Game 1 with the fouling strategy.
And he should’ve called a timeout at the end of regulation in Game 3. Starting OT without Chet was awful too. And what was that weird challenge earlier in the 4th? https://t.co/p5vuehozvI
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 10, 2025
Benching Chet Holmgren at the Start of Overtime
Chet did not play for the first minute and a half of overtime. During that span, Denver scored five points to OKC’s zero. From the start of overtime, it was clear that benching your best defender, who had three blocks and 16 rebounds, would be a massive mistake. Denver got to the rim easily without him, and OKC lost significant size on the offensive end.
Not having Chet in at the start of overtime gave OKC a considerable disadvantage, affecting the entire overtime tempo.
Game 4 tips off Sunday afternoon in OKC.
Mark Daigneault on 4th/OT after the tape
“We had some ugly possessions. Calling it like it is. … It wasn’t anything tricky they were doing or anything we needed to reinvent.
“I thought our process could’ve been better.” pic.twitter.com/Xz191xSXNZ
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) May 10, 2025
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