Its challenging to question the LA Clippers personnel and potential. Coming into this Western Conference semifinals series versus the Denver Nuggets, we had not seen the totally intact, healthy Clippers play championship-quality basketball for a sustained stretch of time longer than 10 days after the All-Star break and prior to the March suspension.
Obviously, this does not indicate the Clippers cant win a title– the skill is certainly there– but there tends to be more empirical proof of dominance prior to a team is blessed as an elite championship contender.
If Game 4 of the first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks marked the beginning of the Clippers case for title favorites, then their 120-97 Game 1 bludgeoning of the Nuggets continues that drive. A team that was promoted during the preseason as a two-way monster that might dominate on both ends of the flooring posted a true shooting percentage of 65.6 while holding the generally high-octane Nuggets to 51.1.
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A quick scan of the Clippers lineup is eye-popping. They have defensive stoppers all over the flooring and a pair of two-way super stars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who can draw blood from a stone in the half court. When totally healthy, this is a group that counts Patrick Patterson and Rodney McGruder as its 11th and 12th players on the lineup.
During the regular season, the Clippers made use of the third-most starting lineups in the NBA. George began the season inactive while recovering from shoulder surgical treatment. Include Leonards mindful load management program and some midseason acquisitions, and the Clippers were never ever quite whole.
Banking on a team with such a thin record of success might be irrational exuberance. However seven games into the Clippers playoff run, Leonard has actually demonstrated that he is factor enough to have blind faith in the group.
After the Clippers closed out the Mavericks, George called Leonard “a male of service.” This joins “the board male” and “the claw” as manages for a guy who, per normal, deflected any chance to talk about his game following the win. Colleagues, however, obliged.
“The method he approaches the video game … hes a great gamer. Hes a great guy to have on your team, particularly around this time. He locks in, and you know what youre going to get from him.”
Dating to last postseason, Kawhi Leonard has taped 15 straight championship game with at least 20 points, the longest active streak in the NBA. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty ImagesIn Game 1, the two-time Finals MVP managed belongings after ownership. He ended up the night with 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting from the field. Although the Nuggets struggled defensively in their first-round series against the Utah Jazz, they deploy a number of strong specific defenders in Jerami Grant and Gary Harris.
Leonard has a way of rendering formidable opponents inefficient; neither of them was a match for him. He blew by, outmuscled and froze Nuggets defenders at will.
Leonard assembled among the most impressive postseason runs in NBA history with the Toronto Raptors last season, and theres little reason to believe that he wont replicate that production. Through seven video games, hes averaging 32.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, with an ostentatious 65.7 real shooting portion.
He isnt alone. Throughout the Dallas series, nine of the Clippers 10 rotation gamers added true shooting marks of greater than 58%, with George the only exception. George appeared annoyed throughout the preliminary, and he exposed that the isolation of the bubble presented a mental health obstacle for him.
George wasnt a deadly scorer Thursday, but he was a strong factor on both ends of the flooring. Along with Leonard and Morris, George assisted contain the combustible Jamal Murray, who was coming off a historic series. Provided the system around him, George does not have to be superhuman to win with the Clippers.
The NBAs salary-cap structure forces most superteams to cut corners on supporting cast. That isnt the case for the Clippers, who craftily managed to put together a lineup loaded with complementary parts, each bringing their own brand of production. Among the embarrassment of riches was Morris, lifted from the New York Knicks in a midseason trade.
Morris offered stretch and physicality in Game 1, tearing down 4 of his five 3-point efforts and dealing with Leonard and George on the border to consist of Denvers perimeter attack. He and Patrick Beverley are, in coach Doc Rivers language, the Clippers provocateurs.
Beverley was at the Clippers disposal for the very first time since Game 1 of the Dallas series. He played just 12 minutes because of a minutes limitation, it was a vintage (if abbreviated) exhibit of all things Beverley: ball pressure at the top of the floor and a set of early corner 3-pointers as a spacer off the ball.
Lastly, Montrezl Harrell looked like his old self in the second system. He has actually been playing his way back into shape after requiring time far from the team since of a death in the household.
” Its excellent to have everyone together,” George said. “Weve been stating all of it year. Its excellent for us to continue to build this chemistry.”
Ending up being whole has actually been a steady procedure for the Clippers, however with Beverleys return, they are again, for the very first time in ages, at 100% availability. For a couple of minutes in Game 1, with Beverley hounding the ball, Leonard discovering his spots, Morris raining down bombs, Harrell creating chaos and George being himself, the sketch began to come into focus.
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During the routine season, the Clippers made use of the third-most starting lineups in the NBA. Toss in Leonards mindful load management program and some midseason acquisitions, and the Clippers were never quite whole.
Throughout the Dallas series, nine of the Clippers 10 rotation players ran up true shooting marks of higher than 58%, with George the only exception. Offered the unit around him, George does not have to be superhuman to win with the Clippers. That isnt the case for the Clippers, who craftily managed to put together a roster full of complementary parts, each bringing their own brand of production.
