For the second straight season, Nikola Jokić's eternally resilient Denver Nuggets took a Western Conference heavyweight to seven games in the second round. And for the second straight season, Jokić's Nuggets ultimately fell short for the same reason.

They weren't that thin for the Denver Nuggets. They were as thick as Nikola Jokić. The best player in the world had the 68-win Thunder on the ropes multiple times. Jokić outplayed presumptive MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a second-round series that went seven games but ended in an OKC blowout.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault knows little about Adelman, but both have had similar upbringings. Adelman has been a Denver assistant since 2017, before he was promoted. Daigneault spent similar time in OKC as the G League's OKC Blue coach and Thunder assistant before he was given the job in 2020.

G iven how well the Denver Nuggets played since David Adelman took over the head-coaching position on an interim basis, it would pretty surprising if he doesn't get the full-time

Nuggets interim coach David Adelman earned praise across the board for his performance during these playoffs and is considered a strong candidate to take over on a permanent basis.

The Denver Nuggets went through a walkthrough practice session Saturday with Aaron Gordon. They went over the game plan as if Gordon was an integral part of it. Now, they wait. The high-flying forward will be a game-time decision due to a strained left hamstring as the Nuggets prepare to face the top-seeded Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday in Game 7.