Steven Thompson
The Los Angeles Clippers are by far the biggest favorites to advance to the conference finals per the NBA futures odds. They are currently -1300 to beat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, and they are considered extremely likely to finish the series in four or five games. It seems as if everyone has jumped off the Denver bandwagon after their grueling 80-78 Game 7 win over Utah in the first round, so Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic will be out to silence the naysayers.
Game 2 from the Orlando bubble will be played on Saturday, September 5, at 9 p.m. with TNT broadcasting the game.
Head-To-Head Results to Date
These teams met three times during the regular season. Denver won the first meeting in the Mile High City, while the Clippers won the second game by 29 points in late February. The rubber game was in the Orlando bubble last month, and the Clips picked up a 124-111 victory to lock up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Injury Report
Will Barton will miss this game as he continues to rehab a knee injury outside the bubble, but there is a small chance he returns at some point later in this series. Vlatko Cancar was ruled out for Game 1 with a foot injury and is questionable to play in Game 2. Fortunately, Gary Harris is back in the lineup for Denver.
The only person listed on the injury report for the Clippers is Patrick Beverley. He is considered questionable to play in Game 1, so the hope is he will be able to play in Game 2 on Saturday night.
Game Preview
Jamal Murray made a name for himself against the Jazz. He exploded for 50 points in Game 4, 42 points in Game 5, and 50 points in Game 6 to bring the Nuggets back from a 3-1 deficit in the series. Murray had a rough night shooting in Game 7, but he still knocked down 52.9 percent of his field goals and 49.1 percent of his threes in the series to average 31.6 PPG.
The Clippers have done an excellent job shutting down Murray all year though, so he will need to find a way to get it done for the Nuggets to pull off the upset. Denver’s star guard made just 37.5 percent of his field goals and 30.8 percent of his threes against the Clippers this season, and he failed to make a big impact on the boards or as a distributor.
Denver will need a strong series out of Nikola Jokic too. Jokic is a consistent triple-double threat as a 7’0 center with elite passing skills, and the Nuggets love to run the pick and roll with him and Murray. However, the Clippers are a smart, veteran team with tons of athleticism, and they will do a better job stopping it then Utah did last series.
It’s time for Kawhi Leonard to take over. Last year’s NBA Finals MVP has waited all year for this moment, and he has delivered through the first round. Leonard had a monster series against Dallas, averaging 32.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 5.2 APG, and he continued to be one of the best defenders in the league with 2.3 SPG too.
Paul George will determine how far the Clippers go this postseason though. Kawhi can’t do it alone, and PG13 was a disaster against the Mavericks last series, making just 35.8 percent of his field goals despite receiving plenty of open looks.
Prediction
The Clippers have an enormous advantage on the wings, and their depth off the bench will keep them fresh in Game 2 and throughout the series. They will likely be close to double-digit favorites per the NBA odds on Saturday night.
