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The revenge of the former players sink Clippers
The LA Clippers suffered a brutal, 113-104 home loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets, largely due to the play of former Clippers Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan. No, seriously.
Summary
This would have been a good game for Clippers fans. . .if it was a few years ago. The team had no answer for the former Clippers pick and roll with Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan, getting burned when it mattered most.
Throughout the game, with the exception of a few spurts in the second quarter and late in the third quarter, the Clippers waltzed into this game almost as if they expected it to be easy against a short-handed team.
There are no ‘gimmie’ games in the NBA no matter who is missing from the lineup. The Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon but all that meant is it was somebody else’s turn to step it up.
The Clippers were so discombobulated by the fourth quarter that they resorted to the hack-a-DJ strategy. The Clippers have struggled with maintaining focus and keeping their foot on the pedal. They looked like they were on the verge of breaking the game open once the fourth quarter rolled around, but they gave up a 10-0 run to start the final period which was all the confidence the Nuggets needed.
In the NBA, once a team gets hot, it’s hard to put the fire out, and the Clippers found that out repeatedly leaving the door open for the Nuggets. It didn’t help matters that the Clippers had no real semblance of a competent offense in the fourth quarter.
This team did loose to the incredibly short-handed, losing-record Memphis Grizzlies, but this loss is up there in terms of the worst performances the Clippers have had this season.
Notes
-Another game that Kawhi Leonard struggled with his shot. He did finish with 31 points but shot 10-26 from the field. His shots of been out of rhythm and on some possessions it looks like his lift isn’t quite there. Whether it’s him still trying to adjust to the new lineup or something else, another couple of games like this and it should start to be a bit alarming.
The revenge of the former players sink Clippers
David Yapkowitz