3. Bench must be at least passable again
In Game 6, the Spurs got an unexpected boost from their bench, which pumped in 36 points on 13-of-29 shooting and was a +6 overall. The Nuggets’ second unit, conversely, tallied a meager 13 points on 5-of-23 shooting and was a -4.
Rudy Gay was the catalyst for the reserves, outscoring Denver’s bench by himself with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from downtown.
Nikola Jokic was outstanding tonight. One of the best games of his career. What a player. Not enough though: LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan spit flames, hitting 17 of their 25 midrange shots. Denver's bench needs to be better. Role players will make the difference in Game 7.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 26, 2019
The disparity between bench production has been stark in this series, but not in the way one would expect based on Game 6. In fact, before Thursday night’s elimination game, the Spurs’ bench had been outscored 170-135 in the series. It may not sound like much, but over the course of five games, that was a seven-point difference in bench scoring on a night-to-night basis.
Heading into a tough Game 7 on the road, rotations will shrink even further, but all three of Gay, Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli received at least 20 minutes in a do-or-die Game 6. If San Antonio’s bench is even passable, unlike the way it’s been for most of the series, this team will stand a much better chance of moving on.