The Denver Nuggets surprised everyone the night of Tuesday, Sept. 15, when they came back from a 3–1 deficit to upset the Los Angeles Clippers, the heavy favorites to win the series and maybe even the championship. This is the second time the Nuggets have come back from being down 3–1 in these playoffs, the first being against the Utah Jazz in the first round. The Nuggets won this series despite being down by 16 points in game five, and 19 points in game six. The Clippers continue their seemingly inevitable history of failure after continuing their 0–6 record in the second round after this season.
The disappointing season of the LA Clippers.
After signing Kawhi Leanord, reigning two-time Champion and two-time Finals MVP, and trading a huge package for Paul George, a six-time all-star, the Clippers were expected to make some noise in the playoffs. This is a team that prides themselves on their depth. Not only did they have two of the top ten players in the league in Leonard and George but they also had players like Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, both of which have now won the sixth man of the year award. They also made moves before the trade deadline to pick up Marcus Morris who was leading the Knicks averaging about 19.6 points per game.
So what went wrong?
Leonard put up an abysmal 14 points in game seven as their best player. This was especially surprising after his amazing performances in game four, five and six where he scored 30, 36 and 25 respectively. George or Williams did not show up either, only scoring 17 points combined. In fact neither Williams nor Harrell played well these whole playoffs, Williams only averaging 11.8 points and Harrell averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds as the best center on the roster. Another problem for the Clippers has been their defense. People were even up in arms at Doc Rivers, one of the best coaches in the league who after this series has lost three series in which his team has led 3–1. To put that into perspective this has only happened 13 times in NBA history and Rivers alone has three of them.
What’s next for the Clippers?
One thing is for sure, this season has been a failure for the Clippers. Before this season many thought this was the year the Clippers will rival the Lakers as the team in LA. Whether it’s the New balance commercial with Kawhi dubbing LA “his city” or the consistent trash talk from players like Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverly bringing up expectations about this team. Despite the loss, they don’t need anything else. They have a great star duo, they are a deep team and they have a great coach. This team is good enough to win it all. it is just a matter of will they play up to their potential.
The young, hungry Nuggets.
This Nuggets team has been nothing but impressive. This is the fifth youngest team in the league and yet has been a top three seed in the past two years. A big part of it has been Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, one of the best young duos in the league. Jokic has been delivering as their best player. While only averaging about 20 points per game these playoffs he has been setting the pace and making his team better. The way Jokic passes the ball as a center is jaw dropping to watch. He has the ability to get his teammates open and deliver them the ball where they have the ability to score.
Murray is averaging 25 points per game these playoffs and has had so many stunning performances. He Had two 50 point games which put him in the history books with the likes of Micheal Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson. He has even stepped it up and been passing the ball more. This season he averaged only 4.8 assist but in these playoffs he bumped it up to 6.8
Don’t be fooled however this team gets contributions from everyone on the team some notable contributors include Micheal Porter jr., Paul Milsap and Jeremy Grant. These Role players have been crucial to their success. As great as Jokic is, he needs people who can step up and make their shots and these players have done that. Porter Jr. especially has been great after missing all of last season with a back injury which caused him to fall to the fourteenth pick of the draft despite being a hot prospect coming into the season. The nuggets were able to take a risk on a player like Porter Jr. because they were already good and this risk has been paying off for them. Porter is averaging 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench in the playoffs.
Now they are looking to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. As of right now, the Lakers lead the series 2–1. This is going to be a tough series for the Nuggets because LeBron James is also hungry after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since his second year in the league. Not to mention that this year LeBron is joined by seven time all-star Anthony Davis. But if there is one thing that we should learn from this Nuggets team it is that it’s time to take them seriously.