When Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets played their first game on Saturday in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs, most expected a high-scoring game between two of the better offensive teams in the league.
The final score of the contest? 97-95. Not exactly what we had in mind.
[Related: Why the Warriors can beat the Nuggets in 6 games]
Both teams suffered from what appeared to be a case of the butterflies, and the Warriors actually did a better job of keeping the tempo of the game in their favor, given the circumstances (playing in Denver against the most potent offensive team in the league).
Still, a lot went wrong (if you are a Warriors fan), from Mark Jackson’s decision-making on the defensive end, Klay Thompson’s inability to finish layups (this has been an ongoing issue throughout the season for him) despite his solid overall play, Stephen Curry’s inability to be more aggressive to Jarrett Jack getting annihilated by the 37-year-old Andre Miller. And of course, the team lost David Lee for the season.
