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Clippers vs Nuggets 2025 Game 1 Recap: A Brutal Loss
Well, that was tough. The Clippers led for much of the afternoon only to let the game slip through their fingers down the stretch due to a series of turnovers and Nuggets’ offensive rebounds. It was a bad time. I won’t go blow-for-blow because it would just make me upset, so some notes are below.
Notes
Kawhi’s Playmaking: If you had to boil the loss down to three things, it would be the Nuggets wanting it more, the Clippers turning the ball over, and Kawhi getting outplayed by Aaron Gordon. All three of those items converge with Kawhi’s poor passing in this one. Kawhi’s biggest weakness as a player (not counting availability) has always been his playmaking – he simply doesn’t read the floor well and is a reactive passer, not a proactive one. The Nuggets exposed that weakness through regular double teams and help, never letting Kawhi get clear lanes or easy one-on-one matchups. In response, Kawhi turned the ball over 7 times to just 2 assists, and missed out on a bunch of easy passes due to defensive pressure. Kawhi is never going to be Magic Johnson, but he’s going to need to figure out Denver’s defensive coverages and cut down significantly on his turnovers.
Odd Rotation Choices: This is less about who didn’t play (all nine Clippers I thought would log minutes did) but more about how many minutes the different players received. In a game that went to overtime, Ivica Zubac played just 39 minutes – meaning he’d have logged just 34 in regulation. For Kawhi Leonard, those numbers were 41 and 36 respectively, and for Harden, 43 and 38. The Clippers are older than the Nuggets and I don’t want Ty Lue to play these guys 44+ minutes per game right away, but I think Kawhi and Zu in particular probably could have logged an extra 2 minutes in each half that might have made the difference. There were even a couple minutes where none of the Clippers’ Big 3 were on the court – that just can’t happen in the playoffs.
Disasters for Norm and Bogi: The Clippers’ two shooting guards were abysmal in this one. Norm contributed more than Bogi but also played a lot more, so may have been a bigger negative. Bogi was scoreless in his 12 minutes, going 0-5 from the field along with 4 fouls and 3 turnovers (he did have 5 boards). Norm scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting in 37 minutes, but turned the ball over 4 times and also made one of his threes in the final seconds when the game was over. Not only that, but in a game where the Clippers’ defense was mostly excellent, Norm and Bogi were the two clear wink links that were targeted by the Nuggets. The defense will probably not improve much, so Norm and Bogi simply have to be more effective on offense than they were today: more confident, more decisive, and more surehanded with the ball in their hands. It’s wild the Clippers were even in this one with how bad these two (and Kawhi) were in this one.
Harden, Zu Excel: After three negative notes, I must shout out James Harden and Ivica Zubac, who were brilliant and very solid respectively in this one. Harden carved up the Nuggets defense to the tune of 32 points on 22 shots with 11 assists to 2 turnovers, and if anything probably should have been more aggressive scoring the ball. Zu had 21 points on 15 shots and collected 13 rebounds in his 39 minutes while doing yeoman’s work on Jokic. Those two don’t need to change up much of what they did tonight, outside of both being more aggressive with scoring and trying to stay out of foul trouble. Good stuff guys.
More Nico: Nic Batum played 24 minutes in this one and I think he probably should have logged at least 30 – including closing out the game over Norm. He was as steady as always on defense, made 3 of his 6 threes, and just adds size that the Clippers don’t have a lot of on the perimeter. There will be games where the Clippers need more scoring punch from Norm or Bogi, or better point of attack defense from Dunn or DJJ, but Nico’s reliability is so valuable on both ends. It’s the playoffs – there’s no point saving him now.
Clippers vs Nuggets 2025 Game 1 Recap: A Brutal Loss
Robert Flom