Charles Barkley hammered the NBA for scheduling Nuggets-Thunder Game 4 with basically no rest
Charles Barkley hammered the NBA for scheduling Nuggets-Thunder Game 4 with basically no rest
Those of you hoping to see high-level NBA playoff action in Sunday's pivotal Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder were probably surprised to see a men's college basketball game (a.k.a. a brickfest) break out instead.
After one quarter of action, there were just 25 total points between both Denver and Oklahoma City, which is tied for the lowest in the shot-clock era that began in ... 1954. That is not a typo. In a game featuring the top two MVP candidates — Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — offense was somehow at a premium. The Nuggets and Thunder would find their legs (somewhat?) as the game wore on, but it became abundantly clear that fatigue was a huge factor throughout.
And why was that?
The NBA had Game 4 scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time, or only roughly 36 hours after a Friday Game 3 that began at 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time and ended a little past 11:00 p.m. because of an overtime. This, on top of a series that has weirdly had games scheduled every other night, while all three other playoff conference semifinals have had at least one extended break already. Oof.
Now, you might think that 5-6 hours doesn't make much of a difference for some of the best athletes in the world who have incredible conditioning. That's where you're wrong. NBA players are used to playing almost every game in the early to late evening throughout the entire season. That means their body clocks are attuned to being prepared for peak performance at those times. So, they usually don't wake up until the late morning or even early afternoon on days with games. But on Sunday, after an emotionally and physically taxing overtime late-night Friday matchup, everyone on both teams was already in the arena at the time they usually wake up from their respective slumbers. They had no time for a real and much-needed regular recovery.
No wonder Game 4 was the worst combined shooting percentage in an NBA playoff game in over two decades:
In the aftermath of the Thunder outlasting the Nuggets to tie this second-round series at 2-2, Charles Barkley had a pointed criticism for the league's schedule makers. The TNT analyst said the absurd turnaround and early start time were particularly "unfair" to the Nuggets, who are older than the Thunder and basically only have a seven-man rotation while Oklahoma City sometimes goes 10-deep.
MORE RESILIENT NUGGETS: Aaron Gordon's heroics show Denver never goes down without a fight.
Of course, both teams had to play on the short turnaround. The Thunder deserve a ton of credit for outlasting the Nuggets. Still, it particularly hurt Denver given its precarious depth as a squad that also hasn't had any extended rest after finishing off the L.A. Clippers in a grueling seven-game series.
Barkley's last point is the concerning one for the Nuggets.
We're 11 games into this Denver playoff run, and it seems pretty apparent Jokić is, on some level, worn down by the tremendous workload he carries for his team throughout the season. His shooting splits are some of the worst of his entire playoff career. He's been sloppy and turnover-prone. He hasn't attacked the rim much against the Clippers and Thunder, two of the NBA's elite defensive teams, who have clogged the paint while focusing on Jokić. His actual dominant games, including a heroic 40-20 Game 1 performance in this series against the Thunder, have unfortunately been far and few between.
It is very hard to imagine a world where the Nuggets can actually knock off the Thunder with this version of Jokić. If he plays to his usual elite standards this coming week in a best-of-three, it feels like they have a real chance of winning and advancing. If he doesn't, the buck probably stops here in an epic second-round series that has a Western Conference Finals feel.
Despite everything, the Nuggets sounded like a confident squad that didn't make an excuse about poor scheduling. Even after blowing a golden opportunity to go up 3-1, Jokić's running mate, Jamal Murray, was calm and not sounding the alarms after Sunday's disappointing loss.
It's on the eventual winner of this series to dig deep and find extra gas in the tank, or go home for the summer.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that a potential Nuggets-Thunder Game 7 in Oklahoma City on Sunday would finally have two full extended days' rest beforehand:
A huge week awaits two of the NBA's best teams, especially the veteran Nuggets. They've been in this situation so many times before. Given their depth concerns, we'll have to see whether Jokić and Co. can overcome a really tough schedule slant to find one more gear to beat the juggernaut Thunder.
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