NBA Playoffs: Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 2 Pick

Those underlying numbers include a healthy edge in FG percentage (50% to 43.6% in favor of LA), points inside (60 points in the paint vs. Denver’s 56), turning the ball around and creating (19 fast break for the Clippers to 16 for the Nuggets), and basically matched them from three, hitting a few more overall on a few more attempts from deep (12-of-33 vs. 9-of-27). That’s the positive side of the ledger. The negative side…and why they let Denver hang around after building that big lead….pretty horrible ball security. 

The Clippers couldn’t hang on to the ball, gifting the home side 20 possessions by turning it over, to Denver’s 11. And you couldn’t point to their role players, or youngsters. Nope, this was an issue at the top of the roster, led by Kawhi Leonard, who coughed it up seven times (which is pretty unusual, as he averages two). Look for this to get cleaned up and fall more in line with a team that has proven themselves to be pretty trustworthy when handling the ball (they ranked 7th in the league in fewest turnovers per game this season).

Consistently forcing an opponent to turn the ball over hasn’t been a strength of the Nuggets this season, as we don’t believe new interim head coach Adelman has all of sudden changed that. We’re expecting Denver to be more like the team that ranked 25th in opponent turnovers per game throughout this past regular campaign. As to the eye-test mentioned above…thoe turnover fest was not due to the stifling pressure tossed at the Clippers. It was self-induced mistakes for the most part. 

Expect head coach Ty Lue to tighten up the game plan, especially with Russell Westbrook showing signs of life (sort of) off the bench. While the Westbrook experience remains unpredictable, his pace and energy did make a difference. But more minutes from Westbrook can often be a big plus for the opposing team. We saw liberal doses of that side of it in game one, mixed in with his heroics. 

Look for the Clippers to get back to being more responsible with the ball, and continue to get their looks and hit shots (particularly James Harden and Leonard), covering the -1.5 and evening the series. 

Pick: Clippers -1.5 (-110)