With Russell Westbrook sidelined because of inflammation in his left foot, the Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman had no choice but to rely almost exclusively on his starting five during Game 4, as Durando notes in the same article.
Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, and Christian Braun were all pushed to the limit, each logging at least 42 grueling minutes on the floor, while no bench player was trusted with more than 13 minutes of action.
Adelman explained his approach before tipoff, emphasizing the challenge of managing player fatigue under such high stakes: “Trying to find breaks at the right time. Using the TV timeouts as best we can,” he said.
“You hate to use timeouts to rest players, but sometimes you have to do that in these games. … It’s Game 4. We’re down 2-1. Our main people, they’re gonna roll. They’re gonna play a lot.”
In other words, the situation demanded that his core group shoulder an unusually heavy burden, with little margin for error, as the Nuggets fought desperately to even the series.
Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Adelman, Porter, Westbrook https://t.co/ztjHMhq4vj pic.twitter.com/FNQ1D4zCvF
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 27, 2025
