Game 1 Nuggets Clippers Afterthoughts

[warriorfan]

Nuggets were able to get a win even with Murray playing poorly. Aaron Gordon replaced his role and stepped it up. Leonard disappeared down the stretch which is unusual. Clippers can fall back on that it is an away game and still have another chance to take one in denver.

[Wardell Curry]

Westbrook made boneheaded play after boneheaded play and the Nuggets still pulled it out. Interesting. I don't see that trend continuing.

[ArbitraryWater]

listen brother unless you come here with some starface level thoughts (@insidehoops sponsor this man already) you best stay confined to the series thread :lol

[Proctor]

What's wrong with the GT?

I didn't think Kawhi was that bad late...he was getting double teamed aggressively. Wasn't bricking it up, wasn't passive. If I was Lue I would have had Batum in for Powell late though - much better decision maker and Powell was irrelevant this game.

Definitely doesn't bode well for LAC that Denver played poorly and still found a way to win. Gordon's offensive growth may be the difference in this narrow series.

[warriorfan]

Westbrook never failing to live up to his rep :lol

The high and low rollercoaster never fails. He plays basketball like it’s russian roulette :lol

[warriorfan]

I say Leonard will show up and they won’t get another performance like Gordon again. Clippers have what it takes to bother Murray and he’s not back in sync yet. Westbrook coin flip is due to land wrong side up. I’m thinking Clippers in game 2.

[Wardell Curry]

Westbrook never failing to live up to his rep :lol

The high and low rollercoaster never fails. He plays basketball like it’s russian roulette :lol

:roll:

[Neal Romer]

The Nuggets are a single unit. They have so much offensive precision. Tonight they didnt shoot well but they were getting better looks at the basket than the Clippers even during the times they were falling behind. Thats why I liked Denver's chances of winning even when they were down at half.

Other than the pick n roll with Harden and Zubac, the Clippers dont feel like a team with defined roles. Youve got Kawhi out there freestyling, Norman Powell is not really being used for much, Dunn can hit a corner shot or two but not consistently. Youre bringing in Ben Simmons to do nothing, Bogdanovich is not hitting enough shots to justify his defense. It feels like just a group of random players.

Everyone knows how the Nuggets work. Jokic is the command center, Murray probes the defense, MPJ is there to shoot. Gordon is gonna muscle the inside and finish lobs, Braun is gonna cut to the basket and be aggressive in transition, and Westbrook is gonna make hustle plays. It's not even the Clippers fault but the Nuggets just have so much more experience together and they play like a well oiled machine. When things get tight, when things get messy, they know what theyre doing. I dont think the Clippers do.

[ArbitraryWater]

Westbrook made boneheaded play after boneheaded play and the Nuggets still pulled it out. Interesting. I don't see that trend continuing.

And then he makes 1-2 energy plays or 1 big shot vs 4 misses and they keep giving him PT for it and it kills them even more in the long run.

[90sgoat]

I think Nuggets look better floor wise this year than last year. Braun looks solid. Westbrook has some fight. Going to need Murray to step up.

[Proctor]

The Nuggets are a single unit. They have so much offensive precision. Tonight they didnt shoot well but they were getting better looks at the basket than the Clippers even during the times they were falling behind. Thats why I liked Denver's chances of winning even when they were down at half.

Other than the pick n roll with Harden and Zubac, the Clippers dont feel like a team with defined roles. Youve got Kawhi out there freestyling, Norman Powell is not really being used for much, Dunn can hit a corner shot or two but not consistently. Youre bringing in Ben Simmons to do nothing, Bogdanovich is not hitting enough shots to justify his defense. It feels like just a group of random players.

Everyone knows how the Nuggets work. Jokic is the command center, Murray probes the defense, MPJ is there to shoot. Gordon is gonna muscle the inside and finish lobs, Braun is gonna cut to the basket and be aggressive in transition, and Westbrook is gonna make hustle plays. It's not even the Clippers fault but the Nuggets just have so much more experience together. When things get tight, when things get messy, they know what theyre doing. I dont think the Clippers do.
Agreed on pretty much 100% of this but it can't be understated how terrible and unreliable the Nuggets bench is. So it equalizes things much more. Nuggets can much less afford to have a player not show up.

[warriorfan]

The Nuggets are a single unit. They have so much offensive precision. Tonight they didnt shoot well but they were getting better looks at the basket than the Clippers even during the times they were falling behind. Thats why I liked Denver's chances of winning even when they were down at half.

Other than the pick n roll with Harden and Zubac, the Clippers dont feel like a team with defined roles. Youve got Kawhi out there freestyling, Norman Powell is not really being used for much, Dunn can hit a corner shot or two but not consistently. Youre bringing in Ben Simmons to do nothing, Bogdanovich is not hitting enough shots to justify his defense. It feels like just a group of random players.

Everyone knows how the Nuggets work. Jokic is the command center, Murray probes the defense, MPJ is there to shoot. Gordon is gonna muscle the inside and finish lobs, Braun is gonna cut to the basket and be aggressive in transition, and Westbrook is gonna make hustle plays. It's not even the Clippers fault but the Nuggets just have so much more experience together and they play like a well oiled machine. When things get tight, when things get messy, they know what theyre doing. I dont think the Clippers do.

This is true but I don’t have confidence in Gordon and Braun to keep it up over a series. I’ve been repeating myself at this point but Jamal recently coming back plus Clippers having plenty to throw at him I don’t see him going off anytime soon.

[Neal Romer]

Agreed on pretty much 100% of this but it can't be understated how terrible and unreliable the Nuggets bench is. So it equalizes things much more. Nuggets can much less afford to have a player not show up.


The bench will definitely be a concern if they advance, but I dont think the Clippers have an impressive enough bench themselves to make it a particularly lopsided advantage in this series.

[Neal Romer]

This is true but I don’t have confidence in Gordon and Braun to keep it up over a series. I’ve been repeating myself at this point but Jamal recently coming back plus Clippers having plenty to throw at him I don’t see him going off anytime soon.

I do. This is what those two have done all season.

[FKAri]

Kawhi fading down the stretch can be chalked up to him playing 41 minutes in altitude. Speaking of which, Nuggets went all-in on this game. Murray played 48 and 3 others played at least 45. The longer this series goes that crappy bench is going to hurt Denver more and more.

[Axe]

Since getting their first ring, i don't want to see denver winning shit again. But if murray plays well, the series will be over. Clippers are total frauds, especially their retarded coach.

[ShawkFactory]

Surprised at this outcome but I think we can all agree that Westbrook taking 17 shots is fvcking wild. They will absolutely not win the series if things stay as is.

Also, is Bogdanovic just useless now? I feel like some shooting firepower and an IDAF energy would be useful. Obviously there is something I'm not seeing but he should probably get a few more minutes.