NBA Playoffs: Can Mike Malone Outduel Gregg Popovich?

DENVER (CBS4)- The Denver Nuggets are back in the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season, with their first-round opponent set to be the San Antonio Spurs. The Nuggets, with home court in the series, hope to advance to the second round, breaking a streak of four straight first-round exits in their playoff appearances.

They'll do so with a team that is largely devoid of playoff experience. Of the 15 players on the roster, only four have played in the postseason, combining for a total of 146 games played. And 87 of those are courtesy of forward Paul Millsap, from his years with the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks. Head coach Mike Malone is similarly inexperienced in playoff situations, making his first appearance as a head coach at the NBA level.

On the flip side, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is a grizzled veteran of the playoff atmosphere, having led the Spurs to the playoffs in each of the last 21 seasons. His roster is fairly experienced too, with LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, Rudy Gay, Marco Bellinelli, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Donatas Motiejunas combining for 320 games played in the postseason.

That is a large gulf in experience between the two teams, and though it may seem cliche, that kind of thing matters come playoff time. The two teams split their four head-to-head games during the regular season. And outside of the 113-85 blowout by the Nuggets on April 3rd, the games were close, with all three games decided by eight points or fewer.

Late in games, particularly in the playoffs, is when that experience tends to come in to play. The Nuggets have more than enough firepower to beat the Spurs, and Nikola Jokic was dominant in three of their four matchups this season. In addition to Jokic, the Nuggets have a bit of a size advantage against the Spurs, with Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee going against Aldridge and... Jakob Poeltl? So, the Nuggets have the advantage inside. If Jamal Murray can return to form to pair, along with the continued excellent play from Malik Beasley and Monte Morris, that should be enough to win the series.

However, that experience does matter, and with each team taking the home games during the regular season series, it would seem likely that the postseason version follows a similar track. The Nuggets can beat the Spurs. They have proven capable of doing so this season. They just have to hope that their coach, and players, can adjust to whatever tricks the Spurs and Popovich have up their sleeves.