Game 32: LA Clippers vs Denver Nuggets
Saturday, December 22 at 2:00 PM
Last season: Clippers won series 2-1
The Clippers and the Nuggets both made promising moves this offseason. Denver drafted Michael Porter Jr. and signed Isaiah Thomas out of free agency to a cheap one-year deal. It should be noted that Isaiah Thomas will reunite with coach Mike Malone, which is a good thing for Thomas as he seeks to make this a comeback year.
The Nuggets are a very promising team. But so are the Clippers. Both teams barely missed the playoffs last year, with Denver at the ninth seed and LA at the tenth. Expect a great game from two brilliant offensive centers in Marcin Gortat and Nikola Jokic. Also pay attention to the battle between the point guards. LA’s Beverly and Gilgeous-Alexander versus Denver’s Jamal Murray and Thomas.
This will be the first game of a back-to-back for the Clippers, where they face Golden State in Oakland the next night. The Nuggets last game before traveling to Los Angeles will be Tuesday, December 18th. This will give Denver three days of rest compared to the Clippers one day.
Prediction: The Clippers will overcome the rest day disadvantage and go all-out to pick up the easier win (when compared to the Warriors the following night) against Denver.