As exciting as Denver’s first-round win over Utah was, the fact that it took them seven games to escape the early stages of the postseason should be a sign that they will struggle to get further. Who played in Game 1 of their second round series on Thursday. The knots blasted fairly through the clippers, 120-97.
Cavi Leonard made it easy by going up to 29 points. They could have reached the 40s or 50s, but the Clippers had no need to spend their superstars in such a misunderstanding. Denver will probably fight Los Angeles in the next series, but the Nuggets will clearly still win their tiring game 7 on jazz. The Clippers, who played once in the last eight days, were a fresher and more athletic team. It showed in game 1. Now the Nuggets will need to respond in a timely manner to Saturday’s Game 2.
The Nuggets have no answer for the poet
This is not to say that the Nuggets lack good defenders. Jeremy Grant, Torrey Craig and Gary Harris are fairly good and match Leonard well on paper. Game tape tells a different story. Leonard’s raw average doesn’t do him justice. If he wanted a score of 50 in this game, he could have done it easily. He went to his spot so easily in this game that he shot 75 percent off the field. No one wants to keep Leonard off the board altogether, but opponents need to at least work for his issues.
Denver couldn’t, and he now speaks to his team’s defensive weakness. Nuggets have no rim-protection, as Nicola Jokic, despite being perfect on the perimeter, has always been a better hedge-and-show defender than the true center from that end of the floor. Denver’s assist defense was ridiculous, and if Kavi had played for help, the double-double would have been more than possible. Defending Kavi Leonard is not a man’s job. Denver failed as a team in Game 1, and without a clear adjustment, they will participate in some more performances like this before the series ends.
Jamal Murray is not healthy
Jamal Murray’s Underwhelming Game 7 Statistics can be written as Fluke. He was tired, and bad shooting happens at night. But his inability to make it to Game 1 against the Clippers, especially the injured Patrick Beverly defended him many nights, was one of the biggest reasons Denver struggled to score. His 5-of-15 shooting night just isn’t this good against an opponent.
In theory, Murray should be able to find shots against the Clippers, as the Dallas guards did. Although Beverly makes this even tougher, the Mavericks hunted fewer clipper defenders through the switch to get points. Lou Williams, Reggie Jackson and Landry Schmidt are easy points. The fact that Murray was unable to take advantage suggests that the thigh injury that prompted him on Tuesday will be a problem in the series.
Michael Porter Jr. A lot to experiment with
In Denver seeding games Michael Porter could live with Jr.’s defense, while giving him close to 30 points per day. His endurance for him slipped into the first round, as his offense returned to Earth. He lost his opening slot in Game 4 and played just 17 minutes in Game 7. Game 1 against the Clippers was the worst performance of his postseason.
Port fired a 2-of-9 shot from the field, with his points, coming out with the reach of the game. The clippers brutally hunted him into the pick-and-roll switches, and he offered little resistance. Porter is a fraud. What he does in the first playoff run is the best and not the last. But he shouldn’t be on the floor in this series until he starts scoring on the clip that makes him a player of all-seeding games. It has no utility in defense.
