What initially looked like an easy job for the Los Angeles Clippers have become a nightmare in a matter of days. The Californians had taken a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets and now are one game away from elimination. Doc Rivers and his pupils have struggled to close the games, losing big advantages in Games 5 and 7.
This isn’t a good situation for the Clips and the Nuggets are well aware of that. Nikola Jokic has done a terrific job leading his Nuggets to this point and now it’s time for them to finish the task and go to the Western Conference Finals. Jokic is confident in his team and he’s not feeling any pressure at all. After dropping 34 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing 7 assists on Sunday night, the Serbian big man looked as chill as always, leaving the pressure to the Clippers.
“We don’t have pressure,” Jokic said, per Malika Andrews of ESPN. “All the pressure is on them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU-c1ByJHZk
“We just go out there and have fun. I will say the effort needs to be on a high level. Have fun and give your best.”
Los Angeles were the ones that lost their 3-1 lead. If the Nuggets lose Game 7, they will still go as a respectable team that fought until the end to get past their rivals. Things are different for the Clippers, though; if they don’t win Game 7, the criticism will be huge, especially with the fact that they were considered one of the three favorites to win the title this season, alongside the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Game 7 is set to take place on Tuesday. Jokic has averaged 28.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists and he hopes to keep these numbers in Game 7 to take his team to the next round of the postseason.
