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Clippers vs Nuggets 2025 Game 6 Preview: On the Brink
The Clippers return to Los Angeles trailing the Nuggets 3-2 and are just one loss away from their 2025 season being over.
Game
Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: TNT, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Nuggets: Jamal Murray – Christian Braun – Michael Porter Jr. – Aaron Gordon – Nikola Jokic
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Nuggets: Da’Ron Holmes Out (Achilles), Michael Porter Jr. Probable (Shoulder), Russell Westbrook Probable (Foot)
Clippers: None
Notes
More Starting Lineup Questions: Going into Game 5, it seemed as though Ty Lue might pivot away from Kris Dunn in the starting lineup in favor of Nic Batum. And, while Dunn started, he missed a corner three and was then taken out of the game much earlier than usual in favor of Nico. However, Dunn checked back in the 2nd quarter and was fantastic the rest of the game, making his threes as well as several scores around the basket. Going into this game, there is still talk around a change in the starting lineup, but with the replaced player being Norm Powell, who was awful again in Game 5 after good outings in Games 3 and 4. Powell’s lack of defense and rebounding has really dragged down the Clippers, and the Clips leaning more into the defensive mindset that got them 50 wins this season seems like a better bet than trying to juice their offense at the expense of the defense. Ty Lue is definitely not going to bench Norm entirely, but if he has another bad start and is getting roasted on defense and the glass, I hope Ty moves away from him quickly.
Better Energy: The Clippers’ season is on the line. If they lose, that’s it, and this team that everyone in the organization has said is very tight-knit and a great group that really gets along will be done. I hope that with that knowledge, and just based on sheer professional pride, the Clippers come out with a hunger and fight we really haven’t seen from them this series. Even in the games they’ve won, the Clippers have not played as hard as the Nuggets have, and that simply must change in this win-or-go-home game. I really hope the Clippers don’t lay an effort egg in what might be the last home game in Intuit Dome’s debut season.
More Aggression: The Clippers’ problems in this series have been less with strategy and rotations and more with effort and execution. As Lucas pointed out in the latest episode of TLTJTP, there have been too many instances where the Clippers have run a play halfheartedly, or gotten the switch they wanted and then not forced the issue, or been too content to let double teams arrive rather than attacking aggressively. Simply put, the Clippers have not been crisp. This is on everyone, but falls most heavily on their two best offensive players, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, who need to be more aggressive and forceful in attacking mismatches and getting shots up. Making the right play is nice, but taking control of games as a star player is better. Even if the Clippers lose, I want to see those guys make more of an impact than they have the past two games and really go out guns blazing.
Rotation Curveballs: Ty Lue went away from Ben Simmons in the second half of Game 5, playing Nic Batum and Kawhi Leonard as the small-ball centers. That was a relatively expected adjustment considering how ineffective Ben had been in the past couple games. However, it remains to be seen if the Clippers have more oddball decisions up their sleeve. Does Amir Coffey make a desperation appearance? Do the Clippers throw out someone even deeper? I’d be surprised if so, as it’s been so long since those guys have played real minutes and putting them into this kind of competitive environment would be a very difficult challenge. But maybe Ty Lue does something truly surprising with the season on the line.
Clippers vs Nuggets 2025 Game 6 Preview: On the Brink
Robert Flom