2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #4 Denver Nuggets vs #5 LA Clippers (Series tied 1-1)

[PeteyPablo]

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[Wolfgang630]

If Jamal isn’t hurt he’s sick lol

[Sofia]

Is there a highlight reel of the Jokic flops?

[hardenASG13]

Jokic is unreal..
26 points 12 rebounds 10 assists 3 steals 8/16 FG 4/8 3PT

That’s on an off night lol.

If he doesn’t have legendary performances game in game out Denver struggles to win.

I'm sorry, but, you forgot the 7 turnovers and inability/unwillingness to take shots down the stretch (and really all game). Westbrook almost bailed them out, again. 16 FG attempts just isn't nearly enough. He had lots of opportunities to lower his head and get into the lane and shoot. This has been a knock I've consistently had against him, for when he's up against a good team in the playoffs. He's gotta take over and show he can create shots outside of slipping the pnr or popping after a screen/hand-off. Last night he forced passes a bunch when he could've shot, and turnovers were an issue as a result. These players he's playing with are supposedly trash, so go off script and make a play scoring if you're "the best player in the league". Thats what it takes in close playoff games/series, and what separates great players. It's no BPM, DRAPM, the LEBRON formula or any of that. He was too passive as a scorer last night, but got his triple double because their whole passing system runs through him. At no point has it felt like Jokic is dominating in this series yet, despite his numbers.

The flopping has to embarrassing for the crew who's adamantly stated he doesn't flop for years as well.

that or show up for the offensive board

He's often standing at the top of the key/not in position to to use his size on the offensive boards.

He's also choked at the FT line in both games, which would get talked about for say, a LeBron James. But he had a TrIpLe DoUbLe haha and I'm sure some great EPM RAPM efficiency percentage. I recently pointed out his shot diet contributes to his percentages, and that he'll need to show he can improvise outside of the looks he likes to shoot. Last night was a prime example of what I was talking about, and this was only game 2. It gets harder and more important for superstars to be able to create their shot out of nothing as a playoff series goes on when facing a good team. Unless his/Denvers plan is for Westbrook to carry them down the stretch.

[Haldi]

Feel like if Dunn could just make a wide open 3 the Clips would be legit contenders.
Love his defense but it’s 4 vs 5 on offense when he’s on the floor. Dude can’t do anything but make uncontested layups lol

Im not the best at digging this stuff up but I think he’s actually been solid from the 3 lately. I think I heard from the announcer hes been shooting over 40% in the last 2 months or so while the Clips have been on that good run.

I just checked his last 5 games and he’s been 7 for 17 from 3, so 41%. Now this is on pretty low volume and when he shoots, you can probably count to 5 mississippi before any defender gets to him lol, but still, if he can keep hitting 40% ish throughout the playoffs, that’s a HUGE win for the Clips.

You know that moment when Westbrook fires off a 3 and you make that yeesh face like you know there’s no way its going in and its a bad shot but theres a small part of you thats just like - maybe this is the one? Well I kinda get that everytime Dunn shoots but at a much less stressful lvl… if that makes sense

[HotRocks34]

Murray said he was sick postgame and Jokic was coughing and sounds sick. Porter is hurt. Gordon isn't 100%.

Bad setup for Denver.

[Michael Jackson]

Feel like if Dunn could just make a wide open 3 the Clips would be legit contenders.
Love his defense but it’s 4 vs 5 on offense when he’s on the floor. Dude can’t do anything but make uncontested layups lol

Im not the best at digging this stuff up but I think he’s actually been solid from the 3 lately. I think I heard from the announcer hes been shooting over 40% in the last 2 months or so while the Clips have been on that good run.

I just checked his last 5 games and he’s been 7 for 17 from 3, so 41%. Now this is on pretty low volume and when he shoots, you can probably count to 5 mississippi before any defender gets to him lol, but still, if he can keep hitting 40% ish throughout the playoffs, that’s a HUGE win for the Clips.

You know that moment when Westbrook fires off a 3 and you make that yeesh face like you know there’s no way its going in and its a bad shot but theres a small part of you thats just like - maybe this is the one? Well I kinda get that everytime Dunn shoots but at a much less stressful lvl… if that makes sense

Dunn’s offensive career got ruined here… not joking he was never the same after the faceplant

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[Infinite Llamas]

Is there a highlight reel of the Jokic flops?

Idk. Look it up maybe?

[Upperclass]

Clippers are impressive..don't think they will lose this series. Really worried about playing them in the second round.

Clippers win this series 4-2 and OKC 4-1's the clips.. there is a huge coaching mismatch and defensively only Kawhi can slow anyone on the OKC side. Dunn will get taken to the post over and over.

[Infinite Llamas]

I'm rooting for Denver but I love this Clippers team and Lue. They dug deep tonight.

Hope Clippers reach the Finals if Denver doesn’t. I like this team a lot and I’ve been a huge Kawhi fan over the years.

Only player I detest on them is Ben Simmons lol

[shi-woo]

First off, Kawhii going back to the machine we all remember was the story of the game, and what should be remembered. I always say the NBA has 3 players that dominate their era's and we are currently in the Kawhii, Giannis, Jokic era except it doesn't seem like it because the Euro's are on trash teams, and Kawhii can't stay healthy. These 3 guys should have taken over the mantle definitively from the Steph, KD, LBJ era, and last night we saw why. Kawhii is a beast on both ends.

Secondly, I get why Jokic is getting the hate. He's playing frustrated, and he no longer trusts his team any more. It's quite obvious, and even if the stats are pretty, he isn't playing at an MVP level. I think were he doesn't have the physical mismatch on Zu, he is trying to get others involved so that it's harder to collapse on him, but the Nuggets simply have no one worth a damn on that team outside of him. Murray is a solid 3rd option at best, MPJ is just a floor spacer, and AG can't be relied on like that. It's why the Russ thing has become such an issue, because he's low key the 2nd option when he's on the court because the team has no one. Jokic is forcing things, and it's showing.

Russ once again was a game changer, and it's no surprise that once they took him out the Nuggets started to lose control. His energy on offense was needed, especially on the boards and in the fight. Love Russ, and am always glad to see him play well.

Clippers just have guys that can man plays. Norms and Zu's push shots were nice to see, and I think both elevated their games down the stretch. I like that Norm didnt settle, and went to the hoop looking to make plays.

Nuggets defense is simply not good enough, and the rest of the league has caught up to their offense. They scramble way to much on D, and it always seems like someone is out of position, late on the hedge or getting back, or Joker ends up covering too much space like when Norm hit that huge 3 at the end.

I love this Nugget's team, Joker is my favorite player and I still think they take the series, but man did this front office really drop the bag on Jokic's career. This supporting cast has only gotten worse and worse

[LeBronSpaghetti]

The overreaction takes on this forum after both game one and two are hilarious. Both games ended as one possession games. It truly could not be any closer. Somebody asked Joker after the game how frustrating it is to go to LA 1-1 instead of up 2-0, and he rightly said they could easily be 0-2, that’s how close these games have been. He also said this is the best basketball being played right now.

There isn’t any truth to takes like “The nuggets can’t X, so the clippers will win.” Or “The clippers aren’t able to Y, so the nuggets will win.” The entire series could come down to one or two made shots in either direction. Both teams look like the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the west to me. It’s a heavyweight fight and both teams are throwing haymakers.

[Haldi]

Feel like if Dunn could just make a wide open 3 the Clips would be legit contenders.
Love his defense but it’s 4 vs 5 on offense when he’s on the floor. Dude can’t do anything but make uncontested layups lol

Im not the best at digging this stuff up but I think he’s actually been solid from the 3 lately. I think I heard from the announcer hes been shooting over 40% in the last 2 months or so while the Clips have been on that good run.

I just checked his last 5 games and he’s been 7 for 17 from 3, so 41%. Now this is on pretty low volume and when he shoots, you can probably count to 5 mississippi before any defender gets to him lol, but still, if he can keep hitting 40% ish throughout the playoffs, that’s a HUGE win for the Clips.

You know that moment when Westbrook fires off a 3 and you make that yeesh face like you know there’s no way its going in and its a bad shot but theres a small part of you thats just like - maybe this is the one? Well I kinda get that everytime Dunn shoots but at a much less stressful lvl… if that makes sense

Dunn’s offensive career got ruined here… not joking he was never the same after the faceplant

Read on Twitter

Daaaaamn!!! Just brutal, and he can’t even blame a defender, that’s all him lol

[PeteyPablo]

Clippers are impressive..don't think they will lose this series. Really worried about playing them in the second round.

Clippers win this series 4-2 and OKC 4-1's the clips.. there is a huge coaching mismatch and defensively only Kawhi can slow anyone on the OKC side. Dunn will get taken to the post over and over.

Kawhi missed the first 43 games of the season. What kind of record would the Thunder have if SGA missed 43 games ?

Once Clippers were at full strength and health from march 1st to the end of the season, they were 18-3 and elite numbers across the board. I want to say top 3 offense and defense. They would be a 60+ win team if they started the season with this squad and healthy.

The one game where Thunder played the Clippers all healthy , was the last game of the season series in Los Angeles. SGA was flopping , whining, grabbing , pulling, hacking the Clippers to death and the refs let him and other Thunder players get away with murder. Thunder won by 2 points.

[Upperclass]

Clippers are impressive..don't think they will lose this series. Really worried about playing them in the second round.

Clippers win this series 4-2 and OKC 4-1's the clips.. there is a huge coaching mismatch and defensively only Kawhi can slow anyone on the OKC side. Dunn will get taken to the post over and over.

Kawhi missed the first 43 games of the season. What kind of record would the Thunder have if SGA missed 43 games ?

Once Clippers were at full strength and health from march 1st to the end of the season, they were 18-3 and elite numbers across the board. I want to say top 3 offense and defense. They would be a 60+ win team if they started the season with this squad and healthy.

The one game where Thunder played the Clippers all healthy , was the last game of the season series in Los Angeles. SGA was flopping , whining, grabbing , pulling, hacking the Clippers to death and the refs let him and other Thunder players get away with murder. Thunder won by 2 points.

Kawhi is the Clippers advantage, Zu is a net equal and Van Gundy can coach defense. Everything else including depth goes to OKC. They are essentially a younger, faster version of the Clippers.

[Michael Jackson]

Im not the best at digging this stuff up but I think he’s actually been solid from the 3 lately. I think I heard from the announcer hes been shooting over 40% in the last 2 months or so while the Clips have been on that good run.

I just checked his last 5 games and he’s been 7 for 17 from 3, so 41%. Now this is on pretty low volume and when he shoots, you can probably count to 5 mississippi before any defender gets to him lol, but still, if he can keep hitting 40% ish throughout the playoffs, that’s a HUGE win for the Clips.

You know that moment when Westbrook fires off a 3 and you make that yeesh face like you know there’s no way its going in and its a bad shot but theres a small part of you thats just like - maybe this is the one? Well I kinda get that everytime Dunn shoots but at a much less stressful lvl… if that makes sense

Dunn’s offensive career got ruined here… not joking he was never the same after the faceplant

Read on Twitter

Daaaaamn!!! Just brutal, and he can’t even blame a defender, that’s all him lol

I kid you not he was never the same after that. Kinda had high hopes for Dunn before it and he eventually worked himself back into a solid rotational last starter type player but that face plant altered his career. He still played bull dog defense but his offensive game was never the same.

[Crunch 99]

This series probably will end the Jokic era, in the playoffs, great got to be more aggressive… joker is fading away

I had the Clips in six before the series, so will stick with that, but man, this series is a gritty slugfest that either team could win. I am not writing off Jokic one bit.

Jokic is clearly an All time great Center, but thinking back to the Jokic vs Hakeem thread this series is yet another reason i can never put him above Dream or be overrawed by his offensive prowess like others on RealGM are.

His counterpart Zubac is almost putting up 20 ppg on 60+ % FG so far.

Jokic isn't as good as The Dream on defense, but Zubac is a good center. He's been getting better and better, averaging 19.5 pts on 67.1 TS% since the All Star break, though Harden really helps him out a lot. One of the announcers last night commented that the Harden to Zubac assist combo is the number one assist combo in the NBA. For the two playoff games, Zubac is averaging 18.5 pts on 63.9 TS%, a little bit below his post All Star break average.

[web123888]

Healthy Kawhi is a legit animal, maybe the best SF in the history of the game after LeBron and Bird. Absolute 2-way force of nature. Nuggets are in trouble. Jokic alone with crap around him may not be able to stop the Kingslayer with a far superior team.

[PeteyPablo]

Clippers win this series 4-2 and OKC 4-1's the clips.. there is a huge coaching mismatch and defensively only Kawhi can slow anyone on the OKC side. Dunn will get taken to the post over and over.

Kawhi missed the first 43 games of the season. What kind of record would the Thunder have if SGA missed 43 games ?

Once Clippers were at full strength and health from march 1st to the end of the season, they were 18-3 and elite numbers across the board. I want to say top 3 offense and defense. They would be a 60+ win team if they started the season with this squad and healthy.

The one game where Thunder played the Clippers all healthy , was the last game of the season series in Los Angeles. SGA was flopping , whining, grabbing , pulling, hacking the Clippers to death and the refs let him and other Thunder players get away with murder. Thunder won by 2 points.

Kawhi is the Clippers advantage, Zu is a net equal and Van Gundy can coach defense. Everything else including depth goes to OKC. They are essentially a younger, faster version of the Clippers.

I know the Thunder will play like a Tesla Plaid fully charged and will play at 100%. They play all out for majority of the 48 minutes. ( youth on their side )

I feel they had a chip on their shoulder this season after being eliminated in the playoffs last year 2023-2024 season.
We will just have to see how things plat out.



Starters :

Shai - Kawhi who is the better player right now ?

J williams - J Harden ?

Holmgren - Zubac ?

L. Dort - Norman Powell ?

I. hartenstein - Dunn or DJJ ( Ty Lue will start who ever he choses )


BENCH :

Clippers : Nic Batum , Brogdan , Ben Simmons, Derrick Jones Jr , Amir Coffey

Thunder : Jay Williams , A. Wiggins , A. Caruso , K. Williams ( I really dont know who their bench will be )

[Crunch 99]

I really like Adelman. He gets it.

No meltdown tonight. If this was Malone he would have totally flipped out postgame.

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Yes, I was impressed with the tone, steadiness and professionalism from Adelman, especially considering he is a rookie coach that was just thrown in to the playoff fire.