3 Takeaways as Another Nikola Jokic Brilliance Muffles Paul George and James Harden’s Effort to Get Clippers a Win

Defending champions Denver Nuggets are all out to protect their title. They have lost just two games out of the ten played. With Jamal Murray sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Nikola Jokic is paving the way to the playoffs with a little assistance from his teammates. On Tuesday night, the Nuggets tipped off against the LA Clippers, which proved to be an absolute thriller. The match was a close call, with both teams fighting for the lead.

LA started strong but had to give up the lead in the last few minutes of the first quarter. From that point, Denver kept adding points and widened the gap until the end of the third quarter. The final one was an absolute edge-of-the-seat watch as both teams laid it all. The Clippers took the lead but lost it midway and never recovered. The Nuggets won 111-108, their ninth victory. Paul George and co. will go back home, wondering yet again where they went wrong. Here are our takeaways from the match. 

The Harden-Clippers is still not working combination

James Harden came to LA with promises of a great performance, one that will definitely set them up as the best. But unfortunately, he is yet to cash in on that promise. LA had their own working team in place with Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. The trio brought in three wins from the five games they played pre-Harden times. But, since the Beard joined them on November 6th, they have recorded five straight losses.

With Westbrook playing restricted minutes with low scoring along with Leonard on the same boat, it makes one wonder of the front office at LA made the wrong choice in bringing James from Philly. Their almost-superteam is now in shambles with no progress on sight.

Clippers eliminated from Play-in Tournament

The newly introduced In-Season Tournament started on November 3rd and the Los Angeles are already eliminated from moving to the Knockout rounds. Out of their four scheduled outings in West: Group B, they’ve already lost two. Only one team from each group will move to the next round. Denver is the most likely option as they are leading the table with two wins and more on the way.

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Their only chance is to aim for a Wild-card selection which is only given to two teams played second in their group. So the chances of Clippers winning the $500,000 is extremely bleak.

Nikola Jokic might be looking at 3rd MVP

The Joker has won two MVPs back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. He finished those seasons with an average of 26.4 and 27.1 points respectively. This year, the Nuggets big man is already averaging 29.8 points with 13.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting 60.6% from the field. If all these stats prove anything, it is that Jokic has high chances at taking home the MVP once again.

Jokic also began this year as a favourite for this, something that has not happened before. As the season progresses, fans and analysts will be keeping an eye out to see how he fares. Without his best man, Jamal by his side, the Nuggets could struggle. But for now, the Serb is able to lead them from the front.

The Clippers will next host the Houston Rockets on Friday night in their third tournament game. Harden is still not done with his promises. Post-game he shared, “I kept reiterating, I didn’t have a training camp or a preseason, so kind of learning on the fly. Also getting myself into James Harden shape. Tonight was definitely another step in the right direction and just keep improving.”

Watch this story: Hell Bent on Leaving the 76ers, James Harden Still Hopeful of Creating Dream Team With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George

What do think of Harden’s words? DO you think he will do better? Let us know in the comments.