The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers needed an extra five minutes to decide the winner of game one on Saturday, proving just how evenly matched the 4/5 seeds are. In the end it was the Nuggets who took care of business and the pressure is once again on the home team to defend their court. The Clippers had a lot of things go right for them in game one, but undoubtedly will make adjustments to the Nuggets lineup in game two. How interim coach David Adelman handles that may very well be the difference tonight.
Who: Denver Nuggets (1-0) vs Los Angeles Clippers (0-1)
When: 8PM MDT
Where: The Can. Denver, CO.
How to watch/listen: Crackstreams bad, Blackbeard good. TNT, Altitude Radio 92.5 FM.
Rival blog: Clipperholics
PositionNuggetsClippersAdvantagePGJamal MurrayKris DunnNuggetsSGChristian BraunJames HardenClippersSFMichael Porter Jr.Norman PowellEvenPFAaron GordonKawhi LeonardClippersCNikola JokicIvica ZubacNuggetsBenchRussell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Jalen PickettBogdan Bogdanovic, Ben Simmons, Derrick Jones Jr.Even
Injury report: Daron Holmes II – out (achilles).
The thing to watch: Containing James Harden
Harden had a big day scoring in game one. He ended the day with thirty-two points and was by far the most consistent player on the floor for L.A. Denver did a good job of keeping him from getting to the foul line but too often allowed Harden to either get to the basket uncontested or settle into a step back three which is his most comfortable shot. The Nuggets had a combination of defenders take their turn on Harden, but none were all that effective. I still believe Peyton Watson is the best defender the Nuggets have for him. Aaron Gordon isn’t quite quick enough, and you want him covering Kawhi Leonard anyways. I’m going to be intrigued tonight by how Denver handles Watson’s minutes and whether he get more of a chance to matchup one on one with Watson. Additionally, more zone may take away some driving lanes for Harden and force him to swing the ball to the outside where a guy like Kris Dunn ends up having to make shots.
The thing to remember: Kawhi might be winded
It’s easy to forget with the way he’s been playing but Kawhi is still just a couple months from returning from yet another major surgery. His conditioning isn’t at zero, but he did seem to tail off at the end of game one. Leonard hasn’t played a full playoff series since 2021 and now is trying to do it at altitude. It is not shocking at all if he got winded at the end of the game on Saturday. Will the Clippers adjust his minutes? Probably not, so it’ll be up to him to find a way to be more effective in the final moments of the game.
The thing to bet: Nikola Jokic over 27.5 points (-115)
Jokic scored 29 points in game one and did it on just 50% shooting. There were a number of bunnies he missed and he looked a bit rusty coming off a week off. Now we go to game two where he’s had a full game to see how the Clippers are going to defend him while also being back in his normal day to day routine. I’m expecting a big night from Joker.
