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Clippers vs Nuggets Preview: Second Game of the Season
The Clippers will try to get their first win of the season on the road in Denver against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
Game Information
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
When: 2:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, FanDuel Sports Network/Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Terance Mann – Ivica Zubac
Nuggets: Jamal Murray – Christian Braun – Michael Porter Jr. – Aaron Gordon – Nikola Jokic
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team)
Nuggets: DaRon Holmes Out (Achilles)
The Big Picture
The Clippers lost their first game of the 2025 season in an absolute nail-biter against the Suns at home. It was a good taste of what we will probably see a lot of from this Clippers’ team without Kawhi Leonard: feisty, competitive, and fun games that too frequently result in a loss due to lack of offensive punch. Still, it was an enjoyable watch for the most part until the very end, and the Clippers showed great fight in coming back from an early deficit to make a game of it. Despite frustration over the collapse in the 4th quarter and overtime, most Clippers’ fans seemed encouraged by the game overall – and with a happier experience than much of the 213 era. We will see how that holds as the season goes along.
The Antagonist
The Nuggets are coming off a tough loss of their own, but not of the “dropped a close one” type. Instead, the Nuggets got shellacked in their season opener by the Thunder, who looked every bit the championship contender they are being billed as. The Nuggets’ starters were ok, but their new bench was abysmal, getting run off the court by the Thunder’s deep bench group. There are some kinks to work out, especially with the Nuggets integrating Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric as well as promoting Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson to larger roles. Still, Nikola Jokic looked as good as ever, and as long as that’s the case the Nuggets will be a very dangerous team.
Notes
Russ Revenge Game: The Clippers will be seeing former teammate Russell Westbrook for the first time since he left the team this summer, and I’m curious how all parties react. I’d assume Russ will be out for blood, but will he channel that effectively – energy, effort, defense, slashing – or with horrible bricks and out of control drives? As for the Clippers, I will be intrigued as to how they defend Russ. Will they lay 10 feet off him and dare him to shoot? Will they employ some sort of zone or other unique defense to rattle him? Or is everything totally normal? Russ was not on the Clippers for long, but he is someone who takes things personally, so I think we might see some fireworks.
Getting More from Kevin Porter Jr.: I have very, very vocally opposed the Porter Jr. signing, mostly because of off-court reasons but also because I think he’s not a good NBA player. One thing he can do, however, is score, and that’s precisely why the Clippers are giving him minutes off the bench. Whatever else you think of him, he should be able to give the Clippers more than the two points he offered in Game 1. I’d like for him to not shoot nearly every time he touches the ball, but that might be asking too much, so at least hopefully he can make more shots. Or, if you’re hoping he gets benched, maybe you’re rooting for him to be awful again so Ty Lue will go with someone else. All I know is he can’t be much worse than he was against the Suns, when he was inefficient on offense and terrible on defense.
Cutting Down on Turnovers: The Clippers had 21 turnovers against the Suns, simply far too many, even in a game that went to overtime. A lot of those were classic first game jitters and unfamiliarity, but the Clippers will need to be much more careful with the ball against the Nuggets. Any turnover against Jokic is virtual death, especially when he has athletes running with him. If the Clippers can keep their turnovers lower, their halfcourt defense should keep them in it.
Matching Jokic with Zu: It’s impossible to really stop Jokic, but Ivica Zubac is one of the better Jokic defenders in the NBA. More critically, the Clippers have zero other players on their roster with a prayer of defending Jokic. Kai Jones is too slender and they don’t have the small-ball options to try that strategy anymore. Thus, I’d match all of Jokic’s minutes with Zu. It’s a lot of minutes for Big Zu, but he can handle it and the Clippers need it.
Clippers vs Nuggets Preview: Second Game of the Season
Robert Flom