Renck: All other things equal, Russell Westbrook is key to Nuggets’ Game 7 upset

Hamstrings pull And reality bites Battle set up as The Joker vs The Kings of Floppers Then news broke Friday night that Aaron Gordon as feared strained his left hamstring and is doubtful to play The Nuggets on paper are royally flushed Denver is now an -point underdog at Oklahoma City Time to change the postseason slogan from We Believe to We Have Serious Doubts Three indispensable players emerged for the Nuggets this postseason with Gordon and Jamal Murray toggling between second and third behind MVP candidate Nikola Jokic If the Nuggets somehow win their second straight Meeting unseating the favorites to win the NBA championship it will draw comparisons to Lake Placid and the Americans vs the Soviets Or at least it feels like that But a narrow path remains for an upset It starts with Jokic The Nuggets typically lose when he gorges posting a - record this season when he scores or more points They are - in this series Along with LeBron James Jokic is the only competitor who averages points rebounds and assists in elimination games per ESPN Those stats are his sweet spot and why he owns a - record in knockout contests A healthy Gordon set up a storyline where Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander canceled each other out leaving someone else as the difference Not now Jokic has to go off Think of as a baseline to cover for Gordon s absence or compromised status And in that way Sunday is delicious The theory has been floated that Gilgeous-Alexander will receive the MVP award before the meeting creating a spicy element as the guard attempts to affirm his worth while Jokic disputes it with a legacy performance Related Articles Renck File Schedule release shows how Broncos embrace expectations under Sean Payton Renck Nuggets respond to desperation like champions force Challenge at OKC Renck Ryan Rolison s dream interrupted by shoulder surgeries comes true with big league call-up Renck Nuggets Nikola Jokic deserves better from teammates David Adelman in fourth quarter Renck vs Keeler Can Nuggets beat Thunder if Nikola Jokic can t shake slump That will not happen A league source recounted The Post that there will be no MVP announcement on Sunday There is nothing nefarious at work it has just not worked out yet The trophy is typically presented during the second round but only one window opened that made sense the Monday before Contest when the series was tied However the award must be presented on TNT and the broadcast partner did not have a contest that night So we wait Regardless of the hardware Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander will figure prominently in the outcome Jokic has already established himself as the best contestant in the world This event is about who moves on SGA has received his SAG card for foul-baiting And Lu Dort should expect a call from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his best actor nomination Even Jokic has been incentivized to throw his head back and arms in the air enough to get a Daytime Emmy Purely put the Nuggets need a fair whistle That means no ticky-tack stuff on Gilgeous-Alexander and no WWE arm bars and atomic knee drops against Jokic If Jokic outscores SGA from the foul line Denver has a chance The Nuggets also have Murray There are sparse players more reliable in do-or-die situations than the Nuggets guard He averages points and with an extra day of rest for the first time in the series he should be able to log -plus minutes and make a variety of complex shots Frankly he has no other choice given Gordon s status especially given the myriad of defensive issues his absence would create Peyton Watson you got next Watson must keep Jalen Williams trapped in his slump Outside of his -point explosion in Contest Williams has been awful in this series averaging points on shooting and from the -point line -for- And as with Championship an unlikely contributor must tiptoe out of the shadows Julian Strawther became the Straw that stirs the drink on Thursday scoring points with two fourth-quarter -pointers Between Strawther Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr two of the three have to play in a way that has us talking about this championship for years What s the probability of that Let s not do the math It s depressing You know where this is going right In this dissection of Tournament where MVPs transaction haymakers Murray and Williams go eye for an eye it will come down to this Russell Westbrook He is the wild card not The Joker or the Floppers Booed for the first time in OKC since the Thunder traded him to the Rockets in July Westbrook is poised for a breakout after averaging points -for- shooting and two turnovers over the past four games He is a blender of outcomes from exhilarating to infuriating But Westbrook is talented enough to put OKC in a vice reminding them with every evil grin that home teams are only - in Tournament s since the playoffs When compared to OKC the Nuggets are not as deep They are not as healthy And they are not at home But Westbrook in so a great number of approaches is All other things being equal the only way the Nuggets vanquish the Thunder is with lightning Westbrook might strike his own bench first or get tossed for two technicals But he is the one athlete in this milieu who can assure the Nuggets weather the storm without Gordon Pass the Tums Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis