The Denver Nuggets and the LA Clippers will face off in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday night. Game 1 was a dominating win by the Clippers.
They looked like the well-rested team coming into the game, while the Nuggets were sluggish coming off of a seven-game series with the Jazz.
Clippers Try to Duplicate Game 1
Los Angeles is looking to stay hot and have a similar result as Game 1. Kawhi Leonard was 12-of-16 from the field with 29 points in the first matchup.
The Nuggets have to find a way to slow him down if they plan on staying in this series.
“I’ve been very fortunate to make shots up to this point but (my) mindset is going in and playing defense,” said Leonard.
Paul George has also found his stride. He had his struggles at the beginning of the bubble and discussed that he was struggling with anxiety.
But he has been a different player the last few games. He had 19 points and seven boards in Game 1. Aside from their two leaders in Leonard and George, the Clippers are also getting production from their role players.
Marcus Morris Sr. has had several great outings lately. He added 18 points in Game 1.
This year is a big opportunity for Doc Rivers and this Clippers team. They have all of the pieces to win a championship.
Nuggets Need to Bounce Back
The Nuggets need to find the effort they had when they came back in their series to beat the Jazz. Jamal Murray was shocked in an ESPN interview when he found out they only had one day off.
“The reality is we had one day to prepare,” said Paul Millsap. “Excuse or not, no excuse. It is what it is. But it’s the cards we were dealt.
“So now we got to figure it out, got to get our legs back under us, we’ve got to get guys rested, and we’ve got to come out with better energy the next game.”
Murray only had 12 points in Game 1, which was far from his performances in the first round. He scored 50 points on two occasions against the Jazz.
If the Nuggets are going to win against the Clippers, Murray will have to continue to go off. The Clippers are a more talented team than the Jazz, so it’s going to be hard for him to be even better.
Prediction
The Clippers seemed too much to handle for the Nuggets in Game 1. Leonard and George are going to be tough to beat.
The spread represents that. The Clippers are 9.5-point favorites in Game 2. I think the Clippers are going to win, but it is a tough betting the spread.
However, if Murray doesn’t score 40 points, I don’t think the Nuggets can come within 10. I’m going to take the Clippers to cover and have a similar performance to Game 1 of the series.