Three Takeaways from the LA Clippers' Game 1 Win Over Denver

The LA Clippers put on a clinic on Thursday night, running the Denver Nuggets off the floor in a 120-97 Game 1 victory.

The Clippers closely resembled the team we saw during the second half of the Dallas series — they played with real urgency, didn't hesitate to share the ball, and communicated very well on defense. More importantly, the rotations were near-perfect.

As usual, Kawhi Leonard was the star of the show. The two-way superstar put up a line of 29 points (12-16 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-4 FT), three assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 32 minutes and looked dominant on both ends of the floor.

It wasn't just Leonard that played a terrific game, though. Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams looked more like the duo we saw during the regular season. Paul George had an efficient showing and played arguably his best defensive game of the postseason. Patrick Beverley's impact can't be overstated. Marcus Morris has his own section later in this piece.

It was an excellent, all-around team effort, and a very encouraging way to begin the series.

Clippers Dominate the Paint

From the jump, LA made it a point to attack the Denver Nuggets under the basket — a plan that worked wonders throughout the entirety of the game.

The Clippers finished the night with 66 points (33-47 FG) in the paint compared to Denver's 40. The main reason for that difference? The rim protectors.

Nikola Jokic had an abysmal showing in that regard, offering little-to-no resistance at the rim. Leonard and others got plenty of easy looks inside, while Beverley had an instance where he went coast-to-coast and blew right by Jokic for a lay-in.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green picked apart Jokic's defense during the NBA on TNT halftime show, calling him out for missing rotations and a lack of effort. Ignore the race at the beginning of this video — Green's analysis is terrific:

On LA's end, Ivica Zubac had a great night. Jokic still got his usual shots to go inside, but Zu made things difficult for Denver's guards, in particular, to get to the rim. There's still some work to be done, but so far, the Clippers have to be impressed with the way they won this battle in Game 1.

Marcus Morris is a Legitimate Third Option

The emergence of Marcus Morris in this year's playoffs has been a revelation for the LA Clippers, and it's proved the front office right for making a move to acquire him at this year's trade deadline.

Through his first eight postseason appearances, Morris is averaging 13.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 56% from the field and 58% from beyond the arc. On Thursday night, he went for 18 points and five boards while going 4-of-5 from deep.

Slotting him alongside Leonard and George means defenders can't double him, and all the attention that those two attract often makes Morris an afterthought for opposing teams, which is something he's punished them for.

He's been fantastic as a catch-and-shoot guy from range, but he's also taken defenders off the dribble and pushed into the midrange, where he's pulled up and knocked down easy buckets.

His shooting percentages aren't sustainable and I would expect him to cool off at some point soon (probably against the Los Angeles Lakers, if both teams do end up meeting in the Conference Finals). Still, for now, LA needs to keep him involved on offense as much as possible.

The same is true of Morris' defense. He's been right there with Leonard, George and Beverley in terms of defending the perimeter this postseason, and he's taken on some challenging assignments as well. He was Luka Doncic's primary defender in the first round and spent time on both Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on Thursday night.

When you boil it all down, Morris is simply doing things that Moe Harkless couldn't — at least not on offense. He may still be taking a few shots away from Leonard and George, but as long as he's playing this efficiently, it's hard to complain about that.

What can Denver do About Kawhi?

That brings us to LA's No. 1 option: Kawhi Leonard.

He was unstoppable in his series debut, netting 29 points and missing just four of his 16 shot attempts. And it's not like Denver's defense was terrible, either — Leonard just had better offense.

He attacked the Nuggets in the paint and mid-range, taking just two of his 16 shots from beyond the arc. He got to his spots with ease and didn't even seem to notice his defenders. And when he could, Leonard got to the rim for an easy bucket or slam dunk inside.

Denver threw everything at him. Jerami Grant, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap each spent some time on him, but none could make a difference. If Leonard is isolated in this series, he's going to succeed almost every time.

The Nuggets could, of course, double him. But that leaves them susceptible to a barrage from either George or Morris (or Williams, if he's on the floor). And with the way LA's forward trio looked in Game 1, Denver can't afford to give any of them an easier opportunity to score.

It's going to take some major adjustments from the Nuggets to slow Leonard and the Clippers down. The question is if they'll have enough time to figure out what works before the series comes to an end.

The LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets will take the floor for Game 2 on Saturday, Sep. 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET.