How The Nuggets Became The Last Man Standing Vs. the Clippers

Plus, Russell Westbrook and understanding yourself

Photo by Андрей Сизов on Unsplash

First thing’s first, I was wrong.

I started off by picking Nuggets in seven¹ and then moved by the end of the week before Game 1 to Clippers in six. I called the series over after Game 3.

The Nuggets were not going to win three of four vs. a better team in the Clippers. That was too much to ask for a 6.5-man rotation against a top defense that had been one of the best teams in the league over the back half of the season.

And yet here we are, as the Nuggets advanced to the semifinals thanks to an absolute beatdown of the Clippers in Game 7 at Ball Arena Saturday night.

Jamal Murray has, several times in media settings², thrown back at me any notion that the Nuggets are not deserving of faith. They’ve been here before, and I’ve seen what they’ve done, so why would I ever question if they could?

When you win so many games and series through sheer force of will, when you exhibit something that goes beyond the data and x’s and o’s, it’s easy to acknowledge it and hard to trust it.³

But instead of trying to predict things, I think it’s most important just to acknowledge it, recognize it, and admire it.

The Nuggets beat the Clippers thanks to a few star performances, and some X’s and O’s adjustments from David Adelman and company, but mostly because they were tougher upstairs and in the chest.

THE PRICE YOU’RE WILLING TO PAY

Certainly, playing seven games rather than four or five is more taxing. But if a series goes seven, it goes seven because both teams are equal or within range. And that comes with emotional swings that can be devastating.

I mistakenly thought (again⁴) that Game 3 was a breaking point for Denver. They won Game 1 in overtime and lost Game 2 close, but Game 3 was a “We’re better” statement from the Clippers.

I forgot the most important playoff lesson the Jokic era has taught me: Series are not about being better overall, they’re about solving problems so you’re the better team in that series.

By Game 6, both teams were worn out even after two days rest. The Clippers hit first and hardest. I did note after that game on Locked on Nuggets that Denver wasn’t blown all the way out like in Game 6 vs. the Wolves. They built momentum towards the end of that game. ⁵

Game 7 is about willpower. You’ve made most of the adjustments. You need role players to hit shots and your team to have the last burst to cross the finish line.

What’s amazing about this Game 7 for Denver is that usually it’s Jokic trucking through the tape, being the guy with one extra burst when everyone else is gassed. But this time, for once, the other guys carried Jokic.

Jokic was hesitant again in this game, and I’m certain he’ll be happy to not see not only Zubac but the Clippers roaming help again. OKC is no picnic, but at least it’s different, and this particular matchup gave him fits.

Jokic tried to get his jumper going to no avail, and then switched back to trying to force his way to calls and that didn’t work. If you had told me that would be Jokic’s game going in I would have said the Nuggets were blown out.

But instead, everyone picked him up and carried him.

AARON GORDON, PEOPLE’S CHAMPION

Aaron Gordon kicked Kawhi Leonard’s ass up and down the floor in Game 7.

Ask any great defender or coach in the NBA about what the approach is against elite defenders, and they’ll tell you you just want to make them work.

AG sealed Leonard constantly in the first half, drawing two fouls and getting a dunk. Leonard’s stat line ended up fine because he got a generous whistle in a game that largely did not have one⁶ but AG took away Leonard’s ability to shape the game in any meaningful sense.

The Clippers disrespected Gordon in this series, routinely trying to “hide” their littles on him. AG punished that while battling Leonard for every single possession.

The toll these last few long seasons and playoff rounds have had on Gordon is evident. He moves slower than he did. But he was better, faster, stronger than the Clippers.

The lob, the jam:

LET RUSS (STILL) BE RUSS

Put this on the epitaph of Russell Westbrook’s NBA career:

“My ability to be a force of nature on the floor is what I pride myself on. So whatever that looks like. It may be a turnover. It may be a missed shot. But it may be a steal. It may be a dunk. It may be a missed three. It may be a made three. It’s gonna be all of that. It’s gonna be everything. So you just take it for how it comes, and whatever happens, you go with it. … As long as I leave it on the floor, and God willing (I can) go out and continue to compete, I’m grateful for it.”

It’s hard not to be happy for Westbrook. The problem with having your cathartic moment in the first round is there’s always the chance for the old narratives to come crashing over the rails like Lake Superior in November.

But for now, Russ got to have his revenge. The LA teams have both scapegoated guys over the past few years for larger issues, from Darvin Ham to Westbrook to Paul George. Taking ownership is not an LA thing.

For Russ, I never bought into the idea that this story could end well because of how many times it had gone wrong for him. What’s incredible about this particular series is that those same things went wrong.

Russ did have terrible turnovers.

He did miss layups.

He did play out of control at times.

But he hit the most important shots he needed to, the corner three pointers when left open. ⁷

The number of plays Russ made in this series all felt huge. As big as the mistakes can feel, the big defensive plays feel just as big. He sniped passes for take-and-bake dunks, he deflected inbound possessions off Harden in Game 1.

His Ed-Reed-like interception in the first half of Game 7 felt like the first “Oh, they might do this” moment.

Westbrook has never really adapted his game. He still has not. He remains who he is, because he loves that version of himself. Saturday night’s postgame comment above was the first time he acknowledged everything that comes with it.

Yes, you need sacrifice to win. And yes, it’s better when players adapt to what their current state in their career and teams needs from them. But Russ managed to do that in a way that didn’t take away his joy or make himself into something he’s not.

He loves himself as a player, and there’s something really beautiful in that. We could all probably love the messy versions of ourselves a little more.

ADJUSTMENTS SCORECARD

Ty Lue outthought himself again. After switching to Batum in the second half of Game 6, he galaxy brained a DJJ start in Game 7, and it worked for the first quarter thanks to a nasty shooting quarter from Jokic and Murray.

But the problem was that they ran into further lineup difficulties and the gap shortened quickly once DJJ stopped hitting from the corners. He made his first and then went 1-of-3.

I can talk about adjustments all I want but Game 7 was: