![]() It’s difficult to take away too much from the Clippers’ regular season in any capacity-they were injured so often and had Leonard on the load management program that he has become synonymous with such that any significant span of data is understandably noisy. Regular-season review: Clippers won series 2–1 With Kawhi Leonard firing on all cylinders, Paul George having broken out of his early slump, Montrezl Harrell slowly rounding into form, and Patrick Beverley potentially able to return this series, the Clippers are finally starting to look the part of the monstrous contender they were pegged to be pre-season. The Murray assignment, while daunting in its own way, isn’t nearly as nerve-wracking. Having won their initial series in a slightly surprising six games, the Clippers’ confidence is likely soaring as it pertains to this matchup, having just managed to oust one of the league’s best all-around players in Luka Doncic. That group has a net rating of 21.7, second-best amongst all lineups that have played at least 40 minutes. Los Angeles, meanwhile, boasts a starting unit fresh off of eviscerating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Those numbers should be bolstered by the return of Gary Harris, however (in two games, the most-used lineup that included Harris was Denver’s best by far, posting a plus-54.8 net rating), and head coach Michael Malone would be foolish not to stick one of his few reliable defenders into that starting group. That’s the third-worst mark amongst lineups that have played at least 40 minutes these playoffs. The Clippers have also struggled on offense, averaging only 109.5 points per game, and without George their offense will be slowed down even more as he currently leads the Clippers with 24.4 points per game.If Denver wants to emerge victorious from this series, their starting unit in particular will have to improve-over their first seven post-season games, that group (Murray- Monte Morris– Jerami Grant– Paul Millsap– Nikola Jokic) has posted an abysmal minus-17.6 net rating in 64 minutes together. When Jokic faced the Clippers four times last season, he averaged 31.5 points, 15.8 rebounds, and eight assists. Jokic is already averaging 25.6 points per game while shooting at a 61.5% rate. ![]() The major weakness in the Clippers defense is guarding centers, as they allow a 59% shooting percentage and 23.6 points per game to the position. The same goes for Ivica Zubac on the defensive side, with his 7.4 defensive rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Kawhi Leonard will need to step up even more with George possibly out to help as he averages the second most points per game on offense with 17.3 and five defensive rebounds per game. They rely on their defense, and will need to again against this Denver offense that has scored more than 115 points 21 times this season. They have one of the best defenses in the league, allowing only 109.4 points per game which is the third best. Denver is 14-3 at home, Los Angeles has gone 10-10 on the road. Los Angeles will be without Nicolas Batum as he deals with an ankle injury, and possibly Paul George, who has a hamstring injury. Denver comes in with massive momentum after winning 10 of their last 13 games, but are coming off a 124-111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. The Clippers come into this game losing four of their last six games and have lost the last three consecutively.
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