On Thursday night, the Denver Nuggets dropped their home opener to the Oklahoma City Thunder in dispiriting fashion. It was an ugly shooting performance from a Nuggets squad that will clearly be at a disadvantage shooting the basketball for much of the season.
The great thing about the NBA: there’s always another game, and it’s time to turn the page.
Next up: Game 2.
Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers
Projected Starting Lineups
Denver: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Los Angeles: James Harden, Norman Powell, Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr., Ivica Zubac
Key Bench Players
Denver: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Dario Saric
Los Angeles: Kris Dunn, Kevin Porter Jr., Amir Coffey, Nicolas Batum, Kai Jones
Notable Injuries
Denver: DaRon Holmes II – OUT
Los Angeles: Kawhi Leonard – OUT, Mo Bamba – OUT, PJ Tucker – ABSENT
Key for the Nuggets – What happens when the Clippers pack the paint?
Against the Thunder, the Nuggets went 7-of-39 from three-point range, most of which were shots the Thunder will definitely live with.
Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray combined to shoot 5-of-16 from three, which isn’t horrendous but will improve over time. The rest of the roster shot 2-of-23 from three, and outside of Nikola Jokic canning the first three of the Nuggets season, the team looked mostly looked extremely uncomfortable shooting. Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson were mostly left wide open on the second unit, and Christian Braun (for all the other good things he did) missed the threes he attempted too.
The Thunder packed the paint because they didn’t need to respect Denver’s shooting. What happens when the Clippers decide to do the same thing? Ty Lue will have his team (a strong defensive roster heavy on guards/wings like the Thunder) ready with a similar game plan. Can Denver hit their shots this time around and force the opposition to adjust?
This will be the cat-and-mouse game the Nuggets face all season.
Important Matchup – Jamal Murray vs Clippers perimeter defense
I didn’t think Murray was that bad against the Thunder. His defense was solid overall, and he spent a lot of time looking to set the table for other people. The Nuggets consistently entered the ball to Jokic in the post, and there just weren’t as many opportunities for Murray as a result.
That being said, Murray has to make a larger imprint on the game this time. Despite playing 38 minutes, Murray attempted only 14 shots and had four assists last game. Whenever Murray plays that much, especially while staggering with the second unit, he should be taking closer to 18-20 shots and forcing the defense to adjust to his skill set.
Murray couldn’t shake Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, or the other Thunder perimeter defenders last game. That’s an elite group. The Clippers will likely have Terance Mann start on Murray initially and will have Kris Dunn guard him on the second unit. Both matchups are tough. Will Murray be tougher and more resilient looking for his own offense?
Number of the Day – 33
That’s the number of drives by James Harden in the Clippers overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Harden had 33 drives in just under 40 total minutes, an absurd number that was by far the highest in the NBA. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the second most drives among opening games at 23 in his 36 minutes.
If the Nuggets were hoping to get comfortable dealing with a ball dominant driver of the basketball, they’re gonna have to wait until next week. Harden got downhill against Phoenix, and Christian Braun will have his hands full.
Nugget who should have a good game: Dario Saric
In just 11 minutes last game, Saric had two points on two shots, just one rebound, and was rarely involved in what the Nuggets were doing.
Michael Malone said postgame after Thursday’s loss that he had to get Julian Strawther and Dario Saric going. This is a good matchup for that. Strawther will certainly get his shots, but I think Saric will be solid too. He’s matching up with Kai Jones because Mo Bamba is out, and while Jones is pretty athletic, the rest of the unit is fairly undersized. I think Saric can grab some offensive rebounds, make some passes, and hopefully run some successful DHOs with Strawther and pick-and-pops with Westbrook.