AROUND the NBA:

[F Gump]

Denver too much talent, too much experience. OKC is going to regret not making some moves at the deadline

DEN has played well in 2 games, but "too much"? Nah. Yes they have squeaked out a couple wins, which means they can perhaps win a couple more, but maybe not. (That's why they play the games.)

The playoffs are a weird thing. Every game is a world unto itself, and "the next game" can change everything (or at least, our perceptions). Also, there is no such thing as momentum in a series, because a different result in the next game can change the whole landscape.

If OKC only wins 1 game in DEN - and they came razor close in g 3 - they have HC advantage again (which changes the whole narrative). But on the other hand, if DEN wins g3, now OKC has the (nearly) historically impossible task of overcoming a 3-1 hole.

The most important game? The next one.

All this holds true for BOS and CLE as well - win the next one, and everything changes. When the last loss (or losses) have been incredibly close, it doesn't take much change to flip the series the other way.