Thankfully, the Nuggets look like they’re going to hang in this series, and major credit to coach Mike Malone for some adjustments. We saw a lot of comments from the players and coaches on that, so there’s plenty of goodies below as the Clippers have to adjust to those adjustments. The Raptors and Celtics should be a treat yet again, and there are some coach quotes in there, too. I took some of the quotes and isolated them in their own section for this edition.
Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics (-1), 6:30 pm ET
Team totals: Raptors 110.5, Celtics 111.5
Injury News: Gordon Hayward and Javonte Green remain without a target date, Vincent Poirier (personal) is out.
Raptors Expected Starters: Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, O.G. Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol
Celtics Expected Starters: Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis
Raptors Rotation Notes: Full second half again for Lowry just like Game 3, FVV and Siakam also went full second half (O.G. did in game 3), Norm Powell was O.G.’s second-half backup in Game 4 (was FVV’s in Game 3).
Celtics Rotation Notes: Celtics starters finally struggled at -11 in 14 minutes, Grant Williams saw more minutes at the five (more below), Semi Ojeleye made a big impact off the bench.
Overall Stats: Shot making matters and quality of shots is a big factor. The Raptors finally found their stroke on treys, and looking at this series by game for wide-open treys is interesting.
Game 1: Celtics 8-of-21 (38.1%), Raptors 5-of-18 (27.8%)
Game 2: Celtics 5-of-10 (50%), Raptors 4-of-17 (23.5%)
Game 3: Celtics 4-of-9 (44.4%), Raptors 5-of-19 (26.3%)
Game 4: Celtics 3-of-10 (30%), Raptors 7-of-14 (50%)
The Celtics continue to keep the Raptors from running, keeping them to just 5.3% of their possessions come via transition (per CleaningTheGlass.com).
Stevens Quotes: Stevens said it was good Jaylen Brown stuck with his shooting despite his struggles, he said the Celtics “tried to hit home runs” too much, Stevens said that playing Robert Williams only two minutes in the second half was because “the Ibaka pick and rolls were giving us fits, so we went to a smaller, switchable lineup.”
Nurse Quotes: He said the games taking so long in real time has helped him play his studs longer minutes. “Our guys are used to playing big minutes in intense situations over long series,” he said.
*Kyle Lowry was ultra-aggressive again with 16 drives in each of the last two games, which is more than double the 7.5 he had in the first six games of the postseason. He actually didn’t have any points in the paint in Game 3 after missing all all five shots off drives (2-of-2 at line of FT resulting from drives), and Lowry finally hit a catch-and-shoot trey for the first time in this series in Game 4 (two of them). The stars still haven’t fully aligned for Lowry yet in this series, and don’t forget coach Nick Nurse said Lowry wants the ball. You have to like him again.
*Lowry continues to guard Tatum, but O.G. Anunoby has been terrific on him at 4-of-15 from the field (no threes, four FTM). Pascal Siakam has also kept Tatum in check at 4-of-11 from the field (two threes, two FTM).
*Jaylen Brown had some unbelievably bad luck in Game 4, making just 2-of-10 uncontested shots (2-of-8 contested). As mentioned above, coach Brad Stevens wants him to keep shooting it. The Raptors continue to make it really tough on Kemba, who was just 1-of-3 on uncontested shots in Game 4. As great as he’s been, it’s an uphill climb offensively.
*O.G. Anunoby’s defense is going to keep him on the floor, but he’s been a tad lucky as a scorer. He leads the series with 14 points off second-chance opportunities on nine FGA (six twos, three threes). Although, the Celtics aren’t prioritizing him on defense with O.G.’s rotation-best shot quality (per pbp stats).
Matchup Helps: Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, O.G. Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, Grant Williams
Matchup Hurts: Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter
Denver Nuggets vs. LA Clippers (-9), 9:00 pm ET
Team totals: Nuggets 105, Clippers 114
Injury News: Nikola Jokic (right wrist) is questionable with a new injury, Will Barton (knee) and Vlatko Cancar (foot) remain out.
Clippers Expected Starters: Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, Ivica Zubac
Nuggets Expected Starters: Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap, Nikola Jokic
Clippers Rotation Notes: Nine minutes of JaMychal Green at the five in Game 2 (five in Game 1, mostly garbage time, zero in first three quarters of Game 1).
Nuggets Rotation Notes: Heavily leaned on the starters (more below), I don’t need to mention how bad Millsap has been this time!
Overall Stats: The Nuggets’ starters finally went off with a +28.4 net rating in a whopping 27 minutes in Game 2. They had played just 29 minutes combined in the season (10) and playoffs (19), so maybe they’re starting to gel. As mentioned in the last edition, the four main Millsap lineups were all in the bottom eight for defensive rating.
The Clippers had just seven wide-open attempts from deep in Game 2.
The Nuggets are playing a little faster off a D board at 11.4 seconds per possession in this series.
Doc Quotes: Rivers was upset with lack of ball movement in Game 2 and said it was exact opposite in Game 1, Rivers was upset that Jokic was left wide open for the first three treys and “gifted” Jokic nine points, Rivers chalked up Kawhi’s bad game to more Denver switching, he didn’t like the lack of spacing and the lack of downhill attacks, Doc didn’t like how the starters played and they have to “set the table” for the game and it didn’t happen in Game 2, Rivers said JaMychal Green was “very good at the five” as “the only one that showed Jokic any physicality” and that he spaces the floor, Rivers was upset that J-Myke didn’t draw a fifth foul on Joker.
Malone Quotes: Malone said the Nuggets “were a noticeably different team” from a physicality standpoint in Game 2 from Game 1. Malone said he loved how the team was “willing to help each other” on defense. He said Jerami Grant’s defense on Kawhi “was spectacular” and that Gary Harris was “terrific” on PG, but he was most impressed with the help defense. Malone said the one weakness was offensive rebounding. Malone said Nuggets wouldn’t have won without Grant’s defense on Kawhi, and he was trying to show the Clippers “a crowd,” and he said the challenge for Game 3 is to do it again with that style of defense. Malone said the Nuggets have to handle the blitzing on Murray better than how they did in the second half. He said in Game 1 the ball movement wasn’t there, and he said Murray was more rested for Game 2.
*We probably won’t know much on Nikola Jokic‘s shooting wrist. It was interesting that he saw his shots fall drastically in the second half, shooting it 13 times in the first half to just four in the second. A lot of that was an adjustment from the Clippers’ defense, but still. Obviously, Mason Plumlee would be a great play if Jokic sits.
*Jamal Murray said the only difference on offense was that the shots went in for Game 2, and he said he was well rested. Murray said not having to play in the fourth in Game 1 may have helped. Murray said he will watch film and be better prepped for the blitzes the Clippers threw at him in Game 2. It turns out, he still didn’t fare well on uncontested shots, making just 5-of-13 of those in Game 2. He was 8-of-25 on uncontested shots coming into Saturday, so he still has room to grow. Still, the Clippers expect to trap and blitz Murray to get the ball out of his hands, especially with how it worked late. He’ll probably see a little more of Kawhi, too.
*We can pretty much assume Jerami Grant will be matching minutes with Kawhi. Over the entire series, Grant has played 65 of 66 of his minutes with Kawhi out there. Grant has done a solid job on Kawhi at 7-of-15 from the field. We know his minutes will be huge, and always mad props to Grant for wearing the Jordan 11 Concords.
*Kawhi’s tough shots finally caught up to him. After making 19-of-23 contested shots, he made just 1-of-7 on contested shots. As mentioned above, the Nuggets really threw bodies at Kawhi Leonard, and that’ll continue. However, he was somehow 3-of-13 in the paint in Game 2 after hanging in the 70s in the playoffs prior to Saturday. The best stat on the Nuggets’ defense was from ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk: Kawhi Leonard blew by defenders seven times in Game 1. He had zero tonight, marking the 5th time since Second Spectrum began tracking in 2013-14 that Leonard recorded at least 18 drives in a game without blowing by a defender, including playoffs. Kawhi is one of the best on tough shots, and he should bounce back.
*Paul George said the Clippers “weren’t aware” that the Nuggets were going to send so many doubles in Game 2, and he said he was fine after a minor knee injury. George was asked about guarding Murray, and he kind of dismissed it. He said anyone who is close to him will guard Murray, and George was “just on him tonight, towards the end” and “everyone will have that matchup” on him. You gotta think he’s better prepared for Game 3 even in a tougher matchup.
*Zubac said he wasn’t physical enough with Jokic in the first quarter and has to do a better job on pin-downs, cross-screens and pick-and-roll plays. He might be on a shorter leash on Joker, and the Nuggets have to know that Joker will be the offensive key, especially if it’s heavy blitz/trap time on Murray.
Matchup Helps: Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Ivica Zubac, Gary Harris, Jerami Grant
Matchup Hurts: Jamal Murray, Montrezl Harrell
