Preview: Denver Nuggets face elimination against Los Angeles Clippers

The Denver Nuggets are in a familiar spot, going three games to one in the playoffs. They were able to mount a comeback and ultimately win the series against sixth-seeded Utah Jazz, now they will have to attempt the same feat against the Los Angeles Clippers. This time it should be a much more difficult task. The Clippers, unlike the Jazz, have been far superior to the Nuggets.

Denver’s struggles have been primarily linked to poor performances by Jamal Murray. Nikola Jokic has been superb but Murray hasn’t been able to replicate his success from the first round. That’s to be expected given the caliber of defenders the Clippers can throw at him. Jamal has been defended almost exclusively by Patrick Beverley, Kawhi Leonard or Paul George, all of whom have been named to the NBA’s First Defense Team in the past (Leonard and Beverely were Second Team receivers this season). Unfortunately for Denver, the only other player to provide even a modicum of help in this series is Michael Porter Jr, who became embroiled in a controversy over his game four comments after the game. If Denver plans to make their season on the weekend, they will need to put the off-court commentary aside and figure out how to beat this Clippers defense.

The essential

WHO: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers (Series tied 1-1)

When: 7:00 pm MDT

Where: The bubble. Orlando, FL.

How to watch / listen: Denver Stiffs don’t condone hacking … unless it’s the romanticized 18th century type. TNT, League Pass for market spectators outside of Denver. Get in the bubble with an Adam Silver mask. 92.5 FM KKSE Altitude Sports Radio.

Rival Blog (s): 213 rings

Projected pairings

Player Availability: Will Barton – out (knee), Vlatko Cancar – out (foot)

Key duel: Michael Porter Jr vs Michael Malone

Photo by Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images

Porter Jr didn’t mince words about why he felt he didn’t see the ball virtually in the second half of the fourth game, putting the responsibility on the coaching staff. Malone has been silent so far about what MPJ said, but pointed out at his own press conference that he has to do a better job of getting Mike involved. However, that was before he was called up to the national media. It will be interesting to see how many minutes the coach gives his talented rookie tonight. There’s a great argument to make that at this point Porter should start on veteran Paul Millsap, but Millsap is, well, a veteran. Benching him in favor of a rookie in the postseason would be a huge slap in the face for a player who has more experience in the playoffs than the rest of the starting lineup combined. However, Millsap has struggled and Porter appears to be one of the few players outside of Nikola who can effectively score against this Clippers defense. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the coach navigates this one.

Key thing to keep in mind: fight

Tonight will also be a test of the constitution of the Nuggets. Coming back against the Jazz was clearly a grueling workout, as evidenced by the huge butt the Nuggets got in the first game against Los Angeles. Going back against an even tougher opponent must seem daunting, if not nearly impossible, and the simple idea of ​​having to win three elimination games in a row, again, has to be exhausting. Everyone, including yours really, is considering ending this series. With the added appeal of knowing that they’ll be back in their own beds and lives if they lose tonight, one has to wonder if Denver will have the energy to keep this going. It all comes down to pride at this point. We are about to find out how much this team has.

Initial thought: whatever happens, fans should be proud

If Denver loses tonight, it will be a little disappointing that they weren’t more competitive in the series, but that’s where the disappointment really ends. It was always going to be an extremely difficult task to get past the Clippers and we all knew from the moment the Woj bomb went off, Kawhi and George were heading to Los Angeles. If they lose, the Nuggets will end up in a similar position as before. year, which on the one hand will mark the first time in Malone’s tenure that they saw no improvement in their season-ending results, but at the same time it will be a testament to just how talented this team is. You have to go back to the 80s to find the last Nuggets team that went to the Western Conference Semifinals in consecutive years. At the end of the day, this bubble confirmed that the Nuggets have a rising star in Michael Porter Jr and that only helps them take the next step. Once they figure out how to get their top three players flowing together, I’m sure they’ll figure out how to get even further, if not all the way, in the postseason.