Mark Daigneault, Alex Caruso praised the Nuggets ahead of playoff matchup

Mark Daigneault and Alex Caruso had plenty of good things to say ahead of their matchup with the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

May 5, 2025, 11:23 AM

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The Western Conference Semifinals are set to begin on Monday night with the Denver Nuggets traveling to Oklahoma City to take on the No. 1 seed Thunder. While the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, two of the greatest playoff risers in NBA history, on their side, the Thunder have one of the best coaches and the deepest rosters in the association, making for a great matchup.

Mark Daigneault is the reigning winner of the Coach of the Year Award, and arguably was snubbed from the award this year after not being named as a finalist for a third straight year. He’s led the Thunder to the top seed in the conference in back-to-back seasons, and is prepared to take the next step towards winning a championship as a head coach. He knows that, in order to take the next step, he’s got to get past Denver, a team he’s not taking lightly.

“Great players, great competitors, a team we have a lot of respect for. We’re obviously very familiar with them from the last few years. They’ve had a lot of continuity, we’ve had a lot of continuity. Great familiarity, it will be a great series, and looking forward to competing,” Daigneault said heading into the matchup.

The two division foes split the season series with two wins apiece, with each team winning one game at home and one on the road. In the playoffs, the only time they’ve met was in the 2011 First Round, when Oklahoma City had the best player in the series in Kevin Durant. Denver was no match as OKC took care of business in five games.

This time around, Denver has the best player in the series.

“[Jokic’s] play obviously speaks for himself. He’s an incredibly tough cover because of the way he can activate his teammates and also score very efficiently himself,” Daigneault said.

The Thunder will have plenty of defenders to throw Jokic’s way, big and small. They have a lethal two-big lineup with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein that they can use, they have bigger wings in Jalen Williams and Lugentz Dort, and they have one of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Alex Caruso who they can also throw Jokic’s way.

“Jokic is in that tier of players along with probably Shai and a handful of other guys in the league where they’re just going to get their numbers … If you do a great on guys of that caliber, they’ll probably get their averages, and if you don’t, they can go for headline stuff,” Caruso said. “The biggest thing is just making it tough on him … He’s a great player when you make it tough on him and when you don’t, he’s maybe the toughest coverage guy in the league with his ability to pass, he rebounds, he’s gotten better defensively as far as getting steals and deflections.”

This season, Jokic’s scoring has been down against Oklahoma City while his assist and rebound totals have increased in four games, as he averaged 24.5/15.8/11.5 while shooting over 52% from the field. After a tough performance in the season opener in which Jokic scored just 16 points, he rebounded with two solid games and and one of his best performances of the season in a 35/18/8 performance in the last matchup of the season.

“We got our work cut out for us, but we’re up for the challenge and I think we’re excited to go out there and meet him head on,” Caruso said.

Opening tip from Oklahoma City for Game 1 is set for 7:30 p.m. Denver time. Read here for everything you need to know about Monday’s contest.