Nikola Jokic will get his. While Mark Daigneault and crew will study Jeff Van Gundy’s solid game plans against Jokic from the first round — with Isaiah Hartenstein trying to fill the Ivica Zubac role — the simple fact is Jokic is the best basketball player on planet earth right now and there is only so much any human being can do.

Predictions, picks and odds as the OKC Thunder hosts the Denver Nuggets on Monday in a second-round playoff series. Plus injury updates and news.

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are squaring off with the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The matchup pits the two leading MVP candidates, OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver's Nikola Jokić,