The Los Angeles Clippers were one Kawhi Leonard 3-pointer away — at the end of Game 4 — from going up 3-1 on the Denver Nuggets. Now, just three days later, LA finds itself facing elimination in a must-win game at home.
The Clippers have been on a bit of a downward spiral in their Round 1 series against Denver. In the first three games, they looked like the better team in the series. They were more consistent on both ends of the floor, and their star duo, James Harden and Leonard, were outplaying the Nuggets’ duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Had it not been for a couple of improbable Westbrook 3-pointers at the end of Game 1, the Clippers could have very well been up 3-0. However, ever since their Game 3 win in Los Angeles, the Clippers have looked multiple steps behind Denver.
Game 4 was a blowout until head coach Tyronn Lue switched the Clippers’ defense to a 3-2 zone in the fourth quarter on a whim, sparking a last minute comeback that left Los Angeles with a chance to win.
However, the Clippers were unable to make key shots, get stops and infamously, they couldn’t box out Aaron Gordon on his game-winning putback dunk.
In Game 5, Denver would learn from its mistakes — shutting the door on Los Angeles early and never looking back. To make matters worse for the Clippers, this ended up being the game in which Murray finally broke out after struggling for much of the series, erupting for 43 points, including eight 3-pointers.
The rest of the Nuggets’ supporting cast also showed up in a game in which the Clippers dared anyone else other than Jokic to beat them. Gordon contributed 23 points on 64% shooting and Westbrook had a phenomenal performance off the bench, scoring 25 points in just 25 minutes.
Jokic only had 13 points, but the Nuggets still won by 16.
Moving forward, if Los Angeles wants to have a chance to keep its season alive in Game 6, names other than Leonard have to step up.
Following Game 2, in which Leonard torched Denver with 39 points on 93% TS to get Los Angeles a win on the road, Denver has constantly thrown double teams at him most of the time he has the ball. Similarly to Los Angeles, Denver bet all-in on forcing someone else other than their best to beat the Clippers, only this time, it’s been working.
After a strong start, Leonard’s supposed co-star Harden has begun to gradually morph into infamous the “Playoff Harden” moniker that he’s attained over his 16-year career of continued postseason disappointment. He’s slowly lost rhythm on offense, and his efficiency has declined throughout the series, with his performance in Game 5 was his worst showing in the series: 11 points and 3 assists on 33% shooting.
Norman Powell, the Clippers’ third leading scorer in the season, also hasn’t been dependable, averaging just 15.8 points on the series — a six-point decrease from his regular season average.
On the defensive end, Jokic is, and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. He is considered the single-most difficult player to stop in the league, so it’s a matter of trying to slow him down, or forcing his other teammates to beat them.
Murray is a coin flip as to whether or not he decides to shoot the Nuggets in or out of games, but Los Angeles needs to be ready to contain him regardless, as if Murray is able to put together another performance like on Tuesday, the Clippers will be in trouble.
Something the Clippers could look to try is starting Derrick Jones Jr. instead of Powell to facilitate greater defensive intensity early on. And ultimately prevent Denver from jumping out to an early lead as they’ve done the past two games.
Defense was the key for Los Angeles in their near-comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 4. Going forward, the Clippers need to put pressure on Denver somehow, and they need to do so from the jump. If they want to keep their season alive, they’ll need to find some aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball, and their role players need to be prepared to make big shots.
Los Angeles plays Game 6 at Intuit Dome on Thursday at 7 p.m.