After a shocking firing, the Denver Nuggets will do battle with the surging Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.
The winds of change came to the Denver Nuggets just before the NBA Playoffs. Will they be enough to capsize the Los Angeles Clippers?
Now led by interim boss David Adelman, the new man in charge after the jaw-dropping firing of Michael Malone, the fourth-seeded Nuggets face No. 5 Los Angeles in the first round of the Western Conference playoff bracket. It’s the third postseason meeting between the two teams: the Clippers prevailed in 2006’s opening round while Denver took a seven-game set in the conference semifinals at the Walt Disney World bubble 14 years later.
The Nuggets (50-32) did win their first three games under Adelman’s watch, allowing them to clinch their third consecutive season with at least 50 wins. Denver, of course, is once again led by the continued prowess of Nikola Jokic, who averaged a triple-double at 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists. Jamal Murray (who missed the last six games of the season, including losses that led to Malone’s firing) and Aaron Gordon continued to impress after earning nine-figure extensions (though the latter was limited to 51 games due to injuries) while this series will provide a reunion for Russell Westbrook, a Denver depth star who spent last season with the Clippers.
Los Angeles (50-32) enters the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the West, winning each of its last eight to avoid Play-In Tournament purgatory. It was an eventful season in Inglewood, which hosted the opening of the new Intuit Dome and survived the losses of Westbrook and Paul George, as well as the medical departure of Kawhi Leonard. James Harden leads the way with 22.8 points and 8.7 assists, while Ivica Zubac‘s career year and the substitute trio of Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, and Derrick Jones Jr. filled in the gaps with assistance from the deep antics of Normal Powell.
The Clippers and Nuggets got their season series out of the way early this year, as the most recent of their split four meetings was played on Jan.8.
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Who: (4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
What: NBA Playoffs, Western Conference, First Round
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO/Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Winners: Season Series Tied 2-2
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Nugget to Watch: Aaron Gordon
The infantile Adelman era has been perfect with Gordon leading the way in the early going, as he averaged 24 points (on just under 56 percent from the field) and five rebounds over the last three games, a strong finish to a physically and mentally draining campaign. Over the past year, Gordon has dealt with both ankle and calf issues, as well as the passing of his brother Drew in a car accident. This time around, Gordon will likely be tasked with primary defense duties on Leonard, who has not faced the Nuggets this season. Fortunately for Denver, the ailments don’t appear to be affecting his 3-point shooting stroke, as he hit two a game in 42 showings this year.
Clipper to Watch: Ivica Zubac
In a Los Angeles season defined by acquisitions from abroad, the spark the Clippers were looking for might’ve been in SoCal the entire time. Jokic is obviously the headliner in this series, but Zubac truly put the “V” in MVP thanks to the way he stepped up this time around: the veteran center swept all three total rebounding categories and averaged a career-best 16.8 points a game, carrying on the momentum he generated last postseason. It’ll take a lot to wrangle the spotlight away from Jokic, but Zubac has proven capable of such duties this time around.
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What They’re Saying
“Sometimes, you just have to go and play and clear your mind of things and enjoy what you love doing. Sometimes in this world, you get so much media and money that moments become convoluted. But this is basketball, this is fun. We get to play a kids’ game, and I thought getting the guys back into that headspace was important. We had some big things happen, but just getting out and being able to go and play was the best medicine for what we have been going through … I see a lot of confidence in the players that we are going to have coming off our bench this week. We are going to need everyone. This is going to be a physical and competitive series.”-Adelman on the Nuggets’ postseason mindset amidst the late developments (h/t Tony Jones, The Athletic)
“We want to go a little further. Our goal was obviously to make the playoffs, but we’re not happy or whatever. We’re happy we got in without being in the Play-In, since everyone doubted us. It feels good to prove everyone wrong. People saying we’re going to win 30 games, 35, whatever. To win 50 games … it feels good, but we got some more work to do.”-Zubac on the Clippers defying preseason expectations (h/t Law Murray, The Athletic)
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Prediction
The Malone news hit everyone so quickly that there was hardly any time to react. Denver, to its credit, responded well to the self-inflicted adversity in an extremely short sample size and no series in the Rockies is ever over as long as Jokic is a mile high.
But the Clippers had more time to work with a full unit and may just be hitting their stride. The addition of Leonard provides a whole new took to their game, one that the Nuggets haven’t seen quite yet. Zubac might be, at the very least, an adequate counter to Jokic, which is the most vital requirement that good teams have used to doom Denver in recent outings. Combine that with a team as talented as the Clippers playing with a sense of healthy reckless abandon thanks to the lack of preseason expectations and the sails are tilted toward Los Angeles.
Clippers in 7
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
