The Los Angeles Clippers sealed their playoff berth with a 124-119 time beyond regulation win over the Golden State Warriors on the ultimate day of the common season; they are going to be coming into the playoffs because the fifth-seed, going up towards a Denver Nuggets workforce that is trying to salvage its season after shaking up the workforce with the firings of Michael Malone and Calvin Sales space.
Because the begin of March, the Clippers have been on hearth, successful 18 of their previous 23 video games and setting themselves up properly for what the workforce hopes will likely be a deep playoff run. And for the primary time in years, the Clippers could be in nearly as good of a place to take action; Kawhi Leonard seems very wholesome, even taking part in 47 minutes of their win over the Warriors, whereas James Harden confirmed on Sunday that he can nonetheless flip it on when wanted equally to how he carried out for LA in final yr’s playoffs.
Nonetheless, a collection towards Nikola Jokic isn’t going to be straightforward to navigate. This will likely be a tricky matchup for the Clippers.
With that mentioned, listed below are a couple of daring predictions for the way the Clippers will fare of their looming collection towards the Nuggets within the first spherical of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
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Kawhi Leonard performs in each recreation of the collection
The problem with Kawhi Leonard has by no means been his expertise. Leonard is without doubt one of the biggest basketball gamers ever within the historical past of planet Earth, and but damage woes have plagued him over the previous few years, limiting his total impression and dashing the Clippers’ championship hopes fully.
Since tearing his ACL within the second spherical of the 2021 NBA playoffs, Leonard has solely suited up in 4 playoff video games — two every in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Leonard appeared to be on observe to energy the Clippers previous the Phoenix Suns with an environment friendly displaying within the first two video games of the collection earlier than tearing his meniscus. After which in 2024, a knee damage saved him out for the ultimate few video games of the common season and proved to be an excessive amount of for him to beat as he was rushed again from damage in a two-game cameo towards the Dallas Mavericks.
However it seems just like the Clippers have stumbled upon the right system for how one can get one of the best out of Leonard at precisely the proper time. Leonard peaked early final yr, and this was a mistake that LA appears to have discovered from.
With the Nuggets’ protection not being nearly as good because it was in recent times, the Clippers positively have probability of advancing to the second spherical of the playoffs. Leonard can overpower Christian Braun on the publish, whereas the Clippers will attempt to get Aaron Gordon off Leonard as a lot as doable by forcing switches, resulting in favorable matchups all around the courtroom.
However within the playoffs, availability is one of the best potential for a celebrity participant. And for somebody who averaged 30.4 factors on 67.9 p.c true taking pictures throughout his final wholesome playoff run for the Clippers (2021), all of the workforce will likely be asking for is for him to swimsuit up in each recreation of the collection — which he’ll.
Clippers fully match Ivica Zubac’s minutes with that of Nikola Jokic’s
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A playoff matchup towards the Nuggets brings again unhealthy recollections for the Clippers. In 2020, Jokic (and Jamal Murray) torched the Clippers, getting back from a 3-1 collection deficit to embarrass Kawhi Leonard and firm. However that was 5 years in the past, and Ivica Zubac, the beginning heart of the Clippers workforce that blew a 3-1 lead within the bubble, has blossomed into an unimaginable inside drive since then.
Zubac has the scale, power, and willingness to play bodily to at the least disrupt Jokic; there will likely be no Montrezl Harrell to steal minutes away from him this time. And with the Clippers’ backup heart choices being Ben Simmons and Drew Eubanks, head coach Tyronn Lue can have no alternative however to match Zubac’s minutes with that of Jokic’s.
The important thing for Zubac will likely be to keep away from foul bother and for him to be in as unimaginable form as he could be. Making life troublesome for Jokic would be the primary activity for the Clippers, and Zubac would be the key to reaching this aim.
James Harden sheds playoff demons, leads Clippers to collection win in six video games
A lot has been written about James Harden and his tendency to vanish beneath the brilliant lights of the playoffs. And as he is gotten older, the harder it has been for him to string collectively environment friendly video games from the sector, and within the playoffs, when the defensive consideration in the direction of him is larger, he tends to undergo tough taking pictures nights.
Final yr, Harden shot 7-28 in Video games 5 and 6 of their collection towards the Mavs as he and Paul George lastly succumbed to the insufferable weight of getting to guide the Clippers previous a motivated Dallas squad. However this yr, Harden ought to have a better time towards a Nuggets protection that doesn’t have the weapons the Mavs deployed towards him in 2024.
Harden can have a subject day selecting on Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray on switches, and he can have loads of house to function contemplating how a lot defensive consideration the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell additionally demand.
It’s positively daring to foretell that Harden will not be having a nasty recreation on this upcoming Nuggets collection, however that is precisely what is going on to occur as a 35-year-old Harden figures it out and leads the Clippers previous the Nuggets in six extremely aggressive video games.