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Clippers vs. Nuggets Preview: On the Road in the Mile High City
The Clippers will look to put together a more complete effort in Kawhi Leonard’s third game of the season against the surging Nuggets.
Game
Information
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
When: 6:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Nuggets: Jamal Murray – Russell Westbrook – Christian Braun – Michael Porter Jr. – Nikola Jokic
Injuries
Clippers: Kai Jones Out (G-League), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)
Nuggets: Aaron Gordon Out (Calf), Vlatko Cancar Out (Knee), Da’Ron Holmes Out (Achilles), Spencer Jones Out (Thigh)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers
continue to scuffle a bit. Losing a road game to a decent Timberwolves team is
not the end of the world, but the way the Clippers let go of the rope – bad turnovers
and stagnant offense leading to awful transition defense – has become too
familiar in recent weeks. Kawhi Leonard is healthy, but is not close to the
Kawhi we saw last season. That’s fine, and to be expected! But the Clippers
need further injection of life into their team, especially on offense, and it’s
unclear where that will come from until Kawhi is able to round into shape.
Still, the halfcourt defense remains excellent, and that should be enough to
keep the Clippers afloat until Kawhi improves… or a trade occurs.
The
Antagonist
Despite all
the bellyaching about the Nuggets and their being bad or disappointing early in
the season, they are 20-14 (writing this before their game against the Celtics
last night) with the 8th best Net Rating and overall record in the
NBA. Considering they’ve had pretty good injury luck outside of Aaron Gordon
that record isn’t great for a team that has the best player in the league in
his prime – but it’s not to be sneezed at either. To be fair, the Nuggets are
as much of a one-man show as it gets in the NBA. Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets
in points per game (12.1 more than Jamal Murray), rebounds (6.5 more than
Michael Porter Jr.), and assists (3.1 more than Russell Westbrook) all while
shooting an insane 57.6% from two and leading the NBA in three-point shooting
at 47.3%. Porter Jr. is having a good season, as are Christian Braun and Westbrook,
but the Nuggets are very good first, second, and thirdly because of Jokic. What
a player.
Notes
Start DJJ: I’m as big a Kris Dunn fan as there is on Clippers Twitter, but I think it’s time to start Derrick Jones Jr. over him. I get the theory behind Dunn starting, which is that his ability to handle and do basic offense can alleviate the load on Kawhi Leonard. But Dunn’s slump on offense and the return of Kawhi both complicate those matters, and I do think DJJ’s superior finishing, shooting, and size make him the ideal fifth starter even if the new unit would definitely have a playmaking deficit. Ty Lue mentioned that he would adjust starters on a game-to-game basis, which is a tactic I do appreciate and understand, but I think the Dunn starting lineup should be used on a less frequent basis. Let’s hope we see DJJ get the nod tonight.
Amir’s Shooting: We are at the point of the season now where small samples are starting to fade, which means it’s time to look at Amir Coffey and consider him an excellent three-point shooter. This isn’t a huge shock, necessarily. In the two seasons prior where Amir was actually a consistent rotation player, he shot 37.8% and 38% from three on decent (if not high) volume. This year, however, Amir is at 44.5% while taking the most threes per game (3.9) of his career. Just about every time he shoots, I think it’s going in. That exceptional shooting has kept Amir in the rotation, even if most people thought he’d probably be on the outside looking in of a healthy rotation at the start of the season. My main mandate for him is to actually let it fly a bit more. Amir’s percentages are probably so high because he can be a bit selective, but volume is just as if not more important than percentage, and I do wish he’d shoot more threes. If he keeps this pace up, defenses will also close out on him much harder, which will open up driving lanes. A full season like this and Amir will probably have a very nice market in free agency. Good for him, and good for the Clippers.
Clippers vs. Nuggets Preview: On the Road in the Mile High City
Robert Flom