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Clippers Player Grades: Two Games In Against Nuggets
Instead of a recap of Game 2 (I don’t think I can do it justice anyway), here are my grades for each Clippers player through two games. As always, these grades are context based for each player with their expectations in mind.
Starters
James Harden: B+
Harden has had one brilliant game (Game 1) and one fine game (Game 2), which averages out for me to a B+. His stats across both games are pretty phenomenal – 25 points and 9 assists per game (to 3 turnovers) on 60% True Shooting efficiency. He gets docked for me primarily because of his defense, which has been inattentive or bad most of the time. Harden was fine on defense for much of the year, but seems to have regressed in this series, with a lot of ballwatching and hand waving rather than real effort. That combined with poor boxing out and some bad turnovers is enough to keep him out of the “A” range for now, but it’s hard not to be thrilled with his offensive play so far.
Norm Powell: D+
Norm escaped an F grade because of his 3rd and 4th quarters in Game 2, when he finally hit a couple of his patented floaters and then a massive three late in the game. On the whole, however, Norm has been very bad – a morass of poor defense, missed shots, invisible boxouts, and nasty turnovers. The Clippers have been able to get by due to the brilliance of Harden, Zu, and Kawhi, but they are going to need much better play from Norm if they’re going to win this series. Since Norm is a player whose primary acumen is scoring, the way for him to turn this around is simple: make more shots. Also, getting to the free throw line (only 3 attempts so far, making just 1) would be nice. We know the rebounding will be shoddy and the defense inconsistent. The offensive output needs to be better.
Kris Dunn: A-
This is the power of expectations. Considering a lot of people figured Kris Dunn would get played off the court in this series, his ability to not just play 30 minutes per game, but to have a massive impact in each game on the defensive end far exceeds expectations. He has been a monster on defense, making life difficult for Jamal Murray, deflecting passes, and generating steals on key possessions to get the Clippers out and running. The defense is A+, and the offense has been just good enough (3-9 from three, 3-6 from two) to keep him solidly in the A territory. A lowkey big plus for Dunn – he has no turnovers so far in this series, a huge deal considering how turnover prone the Clippers have been. There might be a point where the Nuggets’ disrespect of him on offense becomes too much and the Clippers have to go away from him, but that has not happened yet, and in the meantime, his defense is game-changing.
Kawhi Leonard: A-
Kawhi had a fairly forgettable Game 1 marred by turnovers and indecisiveness… and then followed that up with a truly special Game 2 performance. When you score 39 points on 15-19 shooting and play great on defense to boot, you get an A score almost regardless of how bad the other outing was. And certainly, while Game 2 was well below average for a Kawhi playoff performance, it wasn’t bad enough to come close to outweigh Game 2. Enough ink has been spilled and podcast and TV words spoken about Kawhi’s Game 2, but the shotmaking, ability to get to his spots on the court, and sheer willpower to win were all off the charts. It was a reminder of just how great Kawhi can be when he’s feeling it and fully locked in. He’s one of the best ever, and Game 2 is an example of why.
Ivica Zubac: B+
Zubac comes in just under an “A” grade for me even though I’m quite pleased with his play through two games. While he’s been good to very good in each contest, I don’t think he’s had a truly great game yet – and Ivica Zubac is now at the point where I think greatness is the bar for an A. That said, he’s defended Jokic about as well as possible, has rebounded the heck out of the ball, and been efficiently scoring on offense. The nitpicks are free throw shooting (5-9 so far) and turnovers (2.0 per game with a couple awful ones), but the base level is still excellent. I think we are due for one truly monster Zu game (like a 20-20), and it would be awesome to see that performance happen on this massive playoff stage against Jokic. Let’s speak it into existence.
Bench
Bogdan Bogdanovic: F
It’s hard to imagine Bogi having a worse two games than he’s had so far. He’s 0-8 from the field and has not scored a point in 27 minutes – pretty awful from a guy whose main attribute is scoring. The cherry on top of the shit sundae is that Bogi has 7 fouls in those minutes and has turned the ball over 5 times, giving him an insanely high turnover and foul rate. He hasn’t been able to do anything on offense and has been relentlessly targeted on defense. The Clippers are 1-1 with a chance to be 2-0 without anything from Bogi, which just means that if he can get on track, their chances improve greatly. Just one shot falling for Bogi could turn everything around – hopefully that’s the case.
Nic Batum: A
The ever-steady Nic Batum has made 5 of his 11 threes while playing his usual fantastic defense. Really, the only knocks on him are the 3.0 rebounds per game in 21 minutes, low for a player of his size, and his bad inbounds pass at the end of Game 1. Outside of that, he’s been terrific, and really my only complaint is that he should be getting more than 21 minutes per game. If Kris Dunn has an off night shooting the ball, look for Nico to take his spot in the closing lineup.
Ben Simmons: A-
Ben Simmons has only 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 21 minutes through two games. So why the strong grade? Well, one of the biggest worries going into the series was whether the Clippers would be able to survive the non-Zu minutes. And, so far, they have – in no small part due to Ben’s contributions. He’s been stout on defense, has had some nice passes on offense, and has not turned the ball over. Yes, his production numbers are not substantial. But all the Clippers need from him are a handful of competent minutes each half to give Zu a breather, and Ben has passed those expectations with flying colors. Let’s see if Ben can keep it up as the Nuggets get more used to playing against him.
Clippers Player Grades: Two Games In Against Nuggets
Robert Flom