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Clippers vs Nuggets Preview: Fight in the Mile High City
The Clippers continue their road trip in Denver, the start of a brutal stretch that will last for all of February.
Game
Information
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – John Collins – Ivica Zubac
Nuggets: Jamal Murray – Jalen Pickett – Peyton Watson – Spencer Jones – Jonas Valanciunas
Injuries
Clippers: Derrick Jones Jr. Out (Knee), Bogdan Bogdanovic Out (Hamstring), Bradley Beal Out (Hip), Chris Paul Out (Not with team)
Nuggets: Nikola Jokic Out (Knee), Cam Johnson Out (Knee), Aaron Gordon Out (Hamstring), Christian Braun Doubtful (Ankle)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers cleaned up against the easy part of their schedule, moving all the way up to 22-24 as the calendar creeps towards February. They won as they have for the past five weeks, powered by Kawhi Leonard’s two-way superstardom, James Harden’s offensive orchestration, Kris Dunn’s defense, John Collins’ energy, and the injection in youth from Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller. The Clippers have moved their Net Rating all the way to a flat 0.0, a huge accomplishment considering how underwater they were at their lowest point. The Clippers’ offense has remained good (12th, where it’s been for a bit) while their defense has moved up to 20th. The Clippers have moved all the way firmly into “serious team” and are getting talked about like it. They’ve come a long way.
The
Antagonist
The Nuggets have not only remained afloat without superstar Nikola Jokic, but have thrived. They’ve gone 9-6 since their best player went down, and while their schedule in that time was quite easy, it’s still an impressive record considering they were not only without Jokic but without large chunks of their rotation for much of that stretch. Peyton Watson has broken out from a decent depth rotation player to starting-level force, and his jump is probably the most important of any of the Nuggets’ guys. Other fringe players like Jalen Pickett and Zeke Nnaji have played well too, with the Nuggets getting unusual contributions on most nights to pull off one surprising win after another. Jamal Murray is rightfully going to earn his first All-Star berth, as the Canadian guard has put together by far the best regular season of his career. Really, the Nuggets this year have shown just how much more than Jokic they are.
Notes
Go Hard: The Clippers have done a good job at not playing
down to the level of opposition during their winning run, and will have to
continue that mindset tonight. The Nuggets, of course, are well above the
Clippers in the standings, but are missing a bunch of players, which has caused
many opponents to take them too lightly. Nobody should be more familiar with the
Nuggets than the Clippers at this point, so I’d hope this is not a concern, but
still. A flat start could give the Nuggets life at home at altitude, and that’s
not what the Clippers need.
Clippers vs Nuggets Preview: Fight in the Mile High City
Robert Flom