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High-powered Nuggets host Clippers Tuesday
By: Sam Chase - StatFox
Published: 2/26/2018  at  5:10:00 PM
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

at DENVER NUGGETS

Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: NA, Total: NA

After the top two seeds, the playoff picture in the West is a free-for-all.

At first glance, Tuesday night's Clippers-Nuggets matchup may look like just another game between decent Western Conference teams. But a quick glance at the standings reveals that, in a tight race for playoff spots out West, games between contenders like this one will play a huge role down the stretch in determining who makes the cut and who will be watching the postseason on TV. The Nuggets have been hot lately, winning seven of their last nine games, with the only two losses coming to the Houston Rockets, who hold the best record in the NBA. They figure to get reinforcements soon, as well, as PF Paul Millsap recently returned to practice after having missed multiple months with a wrist injury. The Clippers have surprised people by sticking around the playoff race after trading Blake Griffin, and they have won six of their last eight. They'll be without a key contributor for the next two or three weeks, though, as SG Avery Bradley was revealed to have suffered a sports hernia this past weekend. SF Danilo Gallinari is questionable to play Tuesday night with a bruised right hand.

For Clippers fans, the highlight of the season has been watching sixth man SG Lou Williams have a career year at the age of 31. One of his most spectacular moments in a season full of them came on Friday, when he went bonkers in the second quarter of a win over Phoenix with 23 points. He finished the night with 35. That game was the second leg of a back-to-back for the Clippers after they had kept things close against the Warriors at Oracle the night before. Williams showed the full breadth of his offensive abilities in that game, dishing out a season-high 12 assists to go with 21 points. Los Angeles is so committed to Williams' bench role that Bradley's replacement as the starting two guard, SG Tyrone Wallace, is someone many NBA fans have likely never heard of. The last pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of Cal, Wallace played 37 minutes against Phoenix and impressed with 15 points and eight rebounds. PG Austin Rivers, averaging career highs in most statistical categories, joins him in the starting backcourt. SF Tobias Harris joined Bradley (and a draft pick) as the haul of the Griffin trade, and he's had ample opportunity to show off his offensive skills as a Clipper. He's averaging 19.4 PPG since being dealt, and had his best game yet in a Los Angeles uniform with 30 points and 12 rebounds against Phoenix. C DeAndre Jordan and SF Wesley Johnson round out the current iteration of the starting lineup, and Jordan is second in the NBA at 15.0 RPG.

Millsap looked like a strong fit in his first games as a Nugget, but Denver has played surprisingly good basketball without the four-time All-Star. That success can be attributed to the growth of the Nuggets' young players, of which there are many. The centerpiece of the franchise is Serbian C Nikola Jokic, an imposing presence with brilliant court vision that is uncharacteristic for a big man. He had 30 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists in the last game for the All-Star break, a win over Milwaukee, and 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the first game back from the break, a win over San Antonio. He just barely missed his third straight triple-double in Sunday's loss to the Spurs with a more human statline of 21 points, 14 boards and eight assists. The most encouraging thing for the team this year has been the steps made by SG Jamal Murray, on whom scouts had mixed opinions upon his selection at No. 7 overall in 2016. He's shooting a strong 38.8% from deep after hitting just over 33% of his threes last year. He had an efficient outing against the Rockets with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. PG Gary Harris had a rough game with only six points, but he had 23 points against San Antonio on Friday. The Murray-Harris duo is a strong backcourt for the Nuggets of today and a very promising one for the Nuggets of tomorrow. SG Will Barton, often a sixth man, has started both games since the All-Star break and had 25 against Houston. SF Wilson Chandler starts, as well, and he looks sadly washed up at this point in his career. When Millsap returns, he figures to be phased out of the lineup somewhat.


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