SERIES SCHEDULE

Best-of-7

Game 1: Saturday at Denver, 12:30 p.m., ESPN, FDSC

Game 2: Monday at Denver, 7 p.m. TNT, FDSC

Game 3: Thursday at L.A., 7 p.m. NBATV, FDSC

Game 4: April 26 at L.A., 3 p.m. TNT, FDSC

*Game 5: April 29 at Denver, time TBA (National TV TBD, FDSC)

*Game 6: May 1 at L.A., time TBA (National TV TBD, FDSC

*Game 7: May 3 at Denver, time TBA (TV TBA)

* – If necessary

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Clippers and Nuggets split their regular-season series, 2-2

Oct 26: Clippers 109, Nuggets 104, at Denver

Dec. 1: Clippers 126, Nuggets 122, at Intuit Dome

Dec. 13: Nuggets 120, Clippers 98, at Denver

Jan. 8: Nuggets 126, Clippers 103, at Denver

TALE OF THE TAPE

Clippers (rnk) category Nuggets (rnk)

50-32 Season Record 50-32

112.9 (20th) PPG 120.8 (3rd)

109.4 (3rd) Opp. PPG 115.1 (21st)

48.2 (6th) FG Pct. 50.6 (1st)

37.3 (7th) 3pt Pct. 37.6 (5th)

79.7 (7th) FT Pct. 77.0 (22nd)

43.8 (17th) Rebounds 45.7 (4th)

25.2 (24th-T) Assists 31.0 (1st)

9.4 (3rd, tied) Steals 8.0 (17th, tied)

4.5 (20th-T) Blocks 4.9 (15th)

13.8 (19th) Turnovers 13.5 (17th)

STARTING BACKCOURT

Point guard Jamal Murray’s health will be a concern for the fourth-seeded Nuggets heading into the playoffs. He has dealt with injuries this season, most recently a hamstring injury that kept him out for six games, returning for the final two regular-season games. When healthy, he and center Nikola Jokic are one of the most formidable pick-and-roll duos in the league. The fifth-seeded Clippers, however, have a healthy James Harden, and the 11-time All-Star is playing like it’s 2022. He averaged 26.2 points per game (shooting 47% from the floor, 39.7% from 3-point range) and 8.9 assists while his team went 18-3 over the last 21 games. Kris Dunn (1.7 steals per game in just 24 mpg) is arguably the best perimeter defender on either roster and will try to make Murray (21.4 ppg, 6 apg, 47.4 FG%, 39.3% from 3-point range) work hard for his points. Christian Braun (15.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.6 apg) could have his hands full with Harden, while efficient Norman Powell provides another dimension on the wing after a career-best season (21.8 ppg, 48.4 FG%, 41.8% from deep). EDGE: CLIPPERS

STARTING FRONTCOURT

The Clippers went 26-11 this season with Kawhi Leonard in the lineup. The two-time Finals MVP is healthy and playing at a high level (21.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.1 apg while shooting 49.8 from the field and 41.1% from 3-point range), so his staying healthy remains critical. He appeared in just two games in each of the Clippers’ past two postseasons, suffering a knee injury in last year’s playoffs that sidelined him for the first 34 games this season. Along with forward Derrick Jones Jr. and center Ivica Zubac, who is enjoying his best season (16.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.1 blocked shots, 62.8 FG%), the Clippers present a solid front. But Denver has Jokic, who has three league MVP awards and an NBA title on his resume. The dominant 6-foot-11 center averaged a triple-double this season – 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists – while shooting 57.6% from the field and 41.7% from long range. Michael Porter Jr. (18.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 50.4 FG%, 39.5% from 3-point range) has been in a shooting slump of late, but he and Aaron Gordon (14.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 53.1 FG%, 43.6% from 3-point range) can be headaches for any opponent. Defending Leonard will surely test the physical Gordon’s mobility on a calf that has bothered him all season. EDGE: NUGGETS

BENCHES

The Clippers possess an embarrassment of depth on the bench with Bogdan Bogdanovic, Amir Coffey, Ben Simmons and Nico Batum (if healthy). Coach Tyronn Lue can go to them as needed. Aside from former Clipper Russell Westbrook (13.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 6.1 apg, 44.9 FG%), most of the Nuggets’ other reserve options are on rookie contracts. Jalen Pickett, a second-year guard, has returned to the bench after filling in for Murray when he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Could Peyton Watson provide a defensive spark for the Nuggets? EDGE: CLIPPERS

COACHES

The Nuggets fired Mike Malone, who coached them to the NBA championship two years ago and named first-time head coach David Adelman as their interim coach. The playoffs could serve as his audition for the job. Meanwhile, Lue is no stranger to playoff pressure, having guided the Clippers to the 2021 Western Conference finals and the Cleveland Cavaliers to their lone NBA title in 2016, and he will receive some Coach of the Year consideration for the job he just did given Leonard’s early-season absence and Paul George’s departure as a free agent. Lue, who served as an assistant coach on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, is widely respected for his in-series adjustments. EDGE: CLIPPERS

INTANGIBLES

Defense will play a huge part in this series. The Clippers, who have the league’s third-rated defense, will need everyone involved to slow Jokic and the Nuggets’ fourth-rated offense. The Nuggets score the fourth-most transition points per game in the league (26.3), so limiting their open-court opportunities will be critical for Lue’s squad. Denver faces the prospect of having to guard four starters who complement each other almost perfectly, with Harden as the primary ball-handler (working those pick-and-rolls with Zubac), Powell as a catch-and-shoot threat and Leonard a dominant isolation wing scorer. The Nuggets will also be facing Leonard for the first time this season since he didn’t play in any of the four regular-season games meetings. EDGE: EVEN

SERIES PREDICTION

This is the first time these teams have met in the postseason since 2020, when the Nuggets erased a 3-1 series deficit in the pandemic bubble and routed the Clippers in the Game 7 clincher to reach the Western Conference finals. But so much has changed with both franchises since then. The Nuggets have an interim coach, a relatively new roster and Jokic has become an international superstar. The Clippers, projected to be a potential lottery team by some before the season, have leaned into a defensive identity for much of the season and they are one of the league’s hottest teams going into the playoffs. CLIPPERS IN SIX

— Janis Carr