The Denver Nuggets have split the first two games in the preseason and learned some things about their squad in the process – now it’s time to keep the show on the road and visit the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have created a very deep squad and also been through quite a bit of offseason turmoil related to Kawhi Leonard’s finances and Steve Ballmer’s investments, but the games are here now and both of these teams expect to be contenders once April rolls around. Can these squads, both deeper on paper than last year, have another playoff duel in their future? First they have to figure out who’s playing in their respective openers, and that’s what the preseason is for.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (1-1) at Los Angeles Clippers (1-0)
When: 7:30 PM MDT
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood CA
How to watch/listen: ESPN actually. Show up at the arena as a representative of a certain tree-planting enterprise and you really must speak with Kawhi.
Rival Blog: 213 Hoops
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Ball Security
The Nuggets started off the preseason with 15 turnovers against the pressure of the Minnesota Timberwolves, only forcing 11 turnovers themselves as Denver tries to get familiar with the new defensive principles under lead assistant Jared Dudley. Against the Toronto Raptors, Denver had a horrific 31 turnovers, and against only forced 11. That’s not how Denver wants to play – they can’t be giving opponents that many chances to hang around while also taking the ball out of the most efficient scoring machine in the league.
Denver needs to focus on tightening up the little things as we get to the middle of the preseason. It wasn’t one culprit (although Jonas Valanciunas had 5 turnovers against the Wolves and 3 against the Raptors), everyone is at fault. Some of it is lack of familiarity as the bench has essentially never played together before this season, and is also not running a true point guard out there. But the starters coughed up the ball plenty against Toronto, and despite Cam Johnson being a new face they should know their roles and responsibilities better by now. Cleaner execution on both ends is definitely a goal, for both the starters and the bench.
The thing to remember: Roles are important
Preseason is very much about getting familiar with one another and warming up to NBA speed and execution. The Nuggets were far less serious about that in Game 1 against the Wolves, and the bench roles were so cluttered that a double-digit lead from the starters was once again immediately squandered by the reserves. Denver is trying to learn who they can rely on for what role. With Aaron Gordon out in the last game, it gave Peyton Watson the chance to fill the “power forward who brings the ball up the court role” and while that didn’t necessarily go well, this is what Denver needs to know now: who can fill what roles when the games count, especially as the squad suffers the nicks and cuts of a full season. A lot of this is an audition for a role that will open up later as much as it is locking in rotation roles now. So don’t despair if DaRon Holmes seems too far down in the bench lineup or Bruce Brown isn’t dominating offensively. The Nuggets are experimenting, seeing what works, what doesn’t work, and what might work later. Let them play with the roles a little – but also maybe play Holmes a little more please, Coach Adelman.
The thing to bet: C’mon now, it’s preseason
If that’s your thing, there is plenty of time for that in the regular season. Step outside and bet on the color of baby strollers that will get pushed down your street or something. Even the NBA players themselves know you need to chill.
