Nuggets vs Thunder G1 Preview: Jokic Alexander Staged MVP Matchup Will Less or Become an X-Factor

At 9:30 a.m. Beijing time on May 6, the Thunder played against the Nuggets at home, ushering in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder haven't played in eight days, and the Nuggets have just finished their tiebreaker against the Clippers. The difference in fixtures between the two sides could be a factor in G1's performance.

Both teams will be hoping to go further than last season, when both teams lost in the second round — the Thunder lost to the Mavericks and the Nuggets were eliminated by the Timberwolves.

The regular season MVP award is expected to be announced sometime during this round of the series. Alexander and Jokic are both candidates. This season, Alexander averaged 30.3 points and 6.5 assists in four regular-season games against the Nuggets. Although the Thunder swept the Grizzlies in the first round, Alexander's form was not outstanding, in the first three games, he shot only 35.3%, and against the Grizzlies' G4, Alexander rebounded, scoring 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting.

Jokic averaged 24 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game in the Nuggets' first-round series against the Clippers. Jokic has had two triple-doubles against the Thunder this season and scored 35 points on 15-of-20 shooting in the last regular-season meeting between the two teams on March 11.

This round of the series also contains the highlights of the confrontation between the two generations of stars of the Thunder.

Alexander joined the Thunder in July 2019 after spending his rookie season with the Clippers. Less than a week later, Westbrook was traded by the Thunder to the Rockets.

Westbrook showed in the opening round that they still have quality. In the first-round series, Westbrook shot nearly 42 percent from three-point range and averaged 13.8 points per game off the bench.

"You have to take into account the fact that he's going to be ready to give it his all when he's on the court and he's going to pick up the tempo of the game," Thunder coach Daigneault said, "and he's going to try to make a difference from the start, you can't be unprepared. Westbrook played a key role in Game 7 against the Clippers, helping the Nuggets establish an advantage in the second quarter.

In the regular season, the Thunder and Nuggets were evenly matched in four meetings, including one win each in back-to-back games in Oklahoma City in early March. On March 10, the Thunder won 127-103, and the Nuggets won 140-127 a day later. But all of these games happened before the Nuggets surprisingly fired coach Malone. Daigneault said he expects the Nuggets to play them differently than they did against the Clippers.

This will be the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs since 2011. In the first round of the 2011 playoffs, with the help of Westbrook, who averaged nearly 24 points per game, the Thunder eliminated the Nuggets 4-1.

List of injuries and illnesses

Nuggets: Holmes is out

Thunder: Topic is out

ESPN predicts the win rate: Nuggets 24.6%, Thunder 75.4%