2 weeks Ago
With just over a minute left in overtime in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, the LA Clippers needed a stop. Denver power forward Aaron Gordon passed the ball to three-time MVP Nikola Jokić. The Clippers had their ideal defender on Jokić, center Ivica Zubac, while Kawhi Leonard was on Jamal Murray.
James Harden had Gordon, Norman Powell had Russell Westbrook in the paint, and Kris Dunn had Christian Braun on the weak side. Advertisement Dunn motioned for Powell to keep an eye on Jokić, and as he did, he drifted further into the paint, as if to cover for Powell in the case of a potential Westbrook cut. But Jokić had a view of all of the pieces on the chessboard.
Braun is merely an adequate 3-point shooter in the corner, making only 35.1 percent of those attempts in the regular season. But he improves to 42.
3 percent above the break. Jokić found Braun easily, and Dunn’s closeout wasn’t enough to disrupt a 3-point dagger that put Denver up by two possessions for the first time all game. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue had to call a timeout, shaking his head with frustration at such a critical mistake with the game on the line and the ball in Jokic’s hands.
There were beaucoup game-plan mistakes from the Clippers in Denver’s 112-110 overtime victory on Saturday afternoon. One of the repeated errors was the Clippers’ double teams on Jokić, or in this case, not being on the same page on when or how to double and with whom. “We made a lot of mistakes as far as when we went, when we’re supposed to go,” Lue said.
“And the timing wasn’t right. If he sees you coming, he’s going to pick you apart. We want to try to come when he’s blind, and we can come from the back side when he turns his back.
A few times, we just made a mistake of just coming too early, before he put the ball on the floor. We just got to be better with that.” In Game 1, Jokić made 12 of his 24 field-goal attempts for a team-high 29 points.
That’s strike one. Jokić added a game-high 12 assists; five of which led to the nine 3s the Nuggets made. Four of those 3s came after the Clippers either double-teamed or pre-rotated as if to anticipate a double team on Jokić.
That’s strike two. And Jokić had only two turnovers. That was strike three for the Clippers’ defense.
Advertisement Only two players saw the Clippers’ defense this regular season and made at least 10 field goals and added at least 10 assists in the same game. One of them was Jokić, in his visit to Intuit Dome in December, and the other was Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham in March. The Clippers won both games, in large part because Jokić and Cunningham each had five turnovers in those games.
Jokić had only one live-ball turnover in Game 1, and it came in the first quarter while trying to hit a rolling Michael Porter Jr. Leonard was in the right place to disrupt Jokic’s pass, and Harden collected the loose ball. Jokić’s only other turnover came when he was called for a second-quarter offensive foul while Zubac guarded him; Jokić drew a Zubac offensive foul on the ensuing possession.
After halftime, Jokić had no turnovers to go with eight assists. The last Clippers’ defensive possession with the lead came with just under 30 seconds to play in regulation. Leonard got support from Zubac on Murray, while Harden had Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr.
had Braun under the basket. Dunn played far off of Westbrook to watch Jokić at the top of the key. As Murray swung the ball to Jokić, Zubac shaded back inside while Dunn closed into Jokić’s body.
Braun had relocated to the strong-side corner, Gordon was in the dunker spot, and Westbrook spotted up in the weak-side corner. Jokić took one dribble against an airborne Dunn, then rifled a pass to a drifting Westbrook. Westbrook made only 26.
6 percent of his 3-point attempts above the break this season. But he made 42.5 percent of his corner 3s.
Westbrook canned a corner 3 in front of the Clippers’ bench late in the first quarter, on an assist from Jokić. This time, it was a long closeout for Dunn, and Westbrook cashed out. The Clippers never led again.
Westbrook, who missed 20 of his 24 shots outside the paint with the Clippers last year in the playoffs, discussed his role as a disruptor in this series after Game 1 . Lue downplayed Westbrook’s impact on either end of the floor. But Lue pivoted back to what the Clippers need to do.
And it starts with a game plan of getting to the paint, staying there and not giving the ball away. Advertisement “We got 60 points in the paint,” Lue said. “The biggest thing for us is our turnovers, and it’s the careless turnovers.
Denver’s playing. They’re blitzing, they’re aggressive, their physicality. So you’re going to have 10 turnovers because of that.
But you can’t have 20, especially on the road. A lot of those turnovers are careless, and we just got to do a better job of cleaning that up.” The only player who attempted more field goals in Game 1 than Zubac was Harden.
Should he have had more? There were moments in Game 1 when Zubac should have had more opportunities. Even if Powell can’t get the ball to Zubac inside because of Jokić’s size eclipsing an ideal angle, that’s an opportunity to swing the ball decisively to Jones in the corner to make the post entry pass. Instead, Braun wound up with one of his two pick-sixes.
Zubac only attempted two shots in the last 22 minutes of the game — he made both. None of those attempts came in overtime. Considering the paint presence he can be in this series, Zubac may need to be ready to see the ball come his way more.
But Zubac is not stressing, as he understands that his opportunities will come based on how the Clippers approach Denver’s defense. “I’m going to be in a lot of spots where I have to make the decision, playing four-on-three,” Zubac said. “It’s all about being patient and reading that moment.
If he steps up, make that pass to a corner cutter. If not, finish with my floater or try to go and dunk it. I think there were a few possessions where I could have shot it, and I was looking to pass it.
But definitely got to be more patient and be more aggressive to go finish.” The theme of being aggressive and decisive extends to Leonard, whose 15 field-goal attempts where his fewest in a game since the Clippers beat the Brooklyn Nets by 32 points on March 28, and his fewest in a playoff game in which he reached 40 minutes since the Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the first round in 2021. In that win, Leonard made 10-of-15 shots and had a postseason career-best nine assists without a turnover.
In Game 1 vs. the Nuggets, Leonard had multiple turnovers when he got to the paint, only to throw imprecise passes in the direction of backup center Ben Simmons. If nothing else, Leonard needs to take a page from Westbrook’s book: get shots on goal instead of falling victim to Denver’s assorted coverages designed to take him out of his rhythm as a scorer.
“I think with them mixing up coverages, it kind of kept him off balance, where he was just trying to feel out what they were doing instead of just attacking and going for his and then making a play off of his instincts,” Lue said. “He was trying to just ease into their blitz, or if they’re dropping and he wasn’t in attack mode. So just getting back to an attack mode, and not caring what coverage they’re in.
” “Kawhi’s always looking to make the right play,” Zubac said. “Sometimes it might be a pass, sometimes it may be a shot. But he’s a big-time player who makes big-time plays.
I’m sure he knows what he did well, what he didn’t. And I am sure he’s going to make adjustments on his own and be better in Game 2, like we all are.” Advertisement Lue suggested that the starters and rotation from Game 1 will stay the same in Game 2, but he hinted at changes if the Clippers are in a 0-2 hole going into Thursday’s Game 3 at Intuit Dome.
There will be certain adjustments, such as helping Leonard deal with the orange crush and keeping Harden out of foul trouble by finding different matchups for him rather than grapple with the perpetually active Gordon. So that Game 1 rotation Is going to get another spin in Game 2 But Tyronn Lue basically ensures that Game 3 will be different if necessary [image or embed] — Law Murray 📘 ( @lawmurraythenu.bsky.
social ) April 20, 2025 at 12:39 PM This is an evenly matched series with great players leading both teams. The possession battle and associated mistakes will decide these games. But the Clippers feel they have the right plan.
They need to stick to it, and not only for 20 minutes. “Just being better all around the board, we know we can do some things better defensively,” Lue said. “Offensively, we have the blueprint.
And we just got to execute it, time and time again.” (Photo of Norman Powell: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images).
