The Western Conference’s fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets will take on the fifth-seeded L.A. Clippers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The two franchises last squared off in the postseason in 2020, in the Walt Disney World bubble; Denver came back from a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game, second-round thriller.
What we know about the Nuggets
No matter what else might be going on — like, say, firing their head coach and general manager a week before the playoffs — they still have the best basketball player in the world.
Nikola Jokić just wrapped up perhaps the finest individual season we’ve ever seen, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson as only the third player ever to average a triple-double. He leads a Nuggets squad that finished fourth in offensive efficiency, and that won three straight after lead assistant David Adelman took over for the ousted Michael Malone to secure home-court advantage in Round 1 — important for a team that’s gone 14-4 at Ball Arena over the last two postseasons.
Advertisement
As has long been the case, the Nuggets’ fate rests with the play of their starting lineup — and especially with the play of Jamal Murray. When Jokić has shared the floor with Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun this season, Denver has outscored opponents by 12.8 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions — one of the best marks of any big-minutes lineup.
Shaky depth marked by volatility and inconsistency — Peyton Watson’s 3-point shot, Westbrook’s late-game decision-making, the backup center minutes, etc. — and a porous, 21st-ranked defense can make the Nuggets feel vulnerable. But hey: maybe being vulnerable ain’t so bad.
“People say we are vulnerable, but the beast is always most dangerous when they’re vulnerable,” Jokić said after the Nuggets won their first game post-Malone. “So maybe [the firing] woke up the beast.”
What we know about the Clippers
They lost Paul George, spent most of the first half of the season without Kawhi Leonard, and still won 50 games with a top-eight net rating. This team is tough.
Advertisement
The Clippers feature…
..
