David Adelman is fighting uphill against the deepest bench in the league with arguably the shortest one left in the playoffs.

In Game 1 of the Thunder’s series with the Nuggets, interim coach David Adelman peeked down the sideline at the group starting the fourth for Oklahoma City.

It started innocuously. Murray missed an open catch-and-shoot 3 when the Thunder doubled Jokic in the post. Porter pulled up in space when OKC didn’t pick him up during a transition push, but his shot fell short of the rim. Gordon missed a drive-and-kick jumper from the corner, where he’s been lights out. The offense was generating good looks.