LA Clippers 5 Most Interesting Games #3: Home vs. Denver, May 1
Fans of the LA Clippers will be nervously excited when the Clips take on the Denver Nuggets at the beginning of May. This will be the third time the two teams face off – they’ve already played once on Christmas, with the Clippers taking the 121-108 victory.
The May 1 game will be 15 days before the very last game of the season, so you can expect the LA Clippers to be fully in playoff form by then, in terms of roster construction, rotations and motivation, and ditto for the Denver Nuggets.
I don’t need to remind you about our experience with the Nugs last season in the playoffs, and while it felt good to get the big win on Christmas, the excitement was muted. After all, teams are still getting into shape at the beginning of the season. But a game in which both teams have rounded into form and are playing at 100%? Now that’s intriguing.
Depending on the results of the April 1st game, this game at the end of the season will either determine who wins the season series, or it will feature the LA Clippers going for a sweep of the Nuggets. Either way, a win against our playoff nemeses will be huge for morale at the beginning of May.
When both teams are in fine playoff form, I want to see how Ty Lue handles the danger that is Nikola Jokic. The big man is having an MVP caliber season, and we watched him carve up the LA Clippers in last year’s postseason. If Lue finds a way to limit the Joker’s production, we’ll have to feel a little bit better as the season ends.