Nurkic Shines in SLC: Dominates LA Clippers

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Nurkic Shines in SLC: Dominates LA Clippers

Is Jusuf Nurkic the most dangerous man in the NBA? I’m mostly joking, of course, because despite the fact that he’s on an unprecedented run of three consecutive triple-doubles (which was on nobody’s bingo card at the beginning of the season, don’t even pretend), it took a herculean performance from Keyonte George to claim the only Jazz win in that stretch, a five-point victory against Minnesota.

In the fourth game of this home stretch, Utah is still stumbling from back-to-back losses of 17 and 31 points. It’s no surprise that the NBA isn’t exactly cowering in fear at the Jokic-fication of Bosnia’s finest. Certainly not the red-hot Clippers, who have won so many games that they’re forcing non-believers to eat sheets of paper. Basketball is the weirdest sport ever, man.

The host Jazz, now 15-31 and 3-7 in their last 10, have seemingly locked in their fate before the game has even tipped off. Just take a look at the injury report, which lists Keyonte George as out (rest) and Markkanen, Nurkic, and Love all as game-time decisions. Especially against a team as hot as Los Angeles. The Clips desperately needed to climb out of the Tankathon race, given the fact that they do not own their own draft pick thanks to the increasingly awful SGA-Paul George deal.

Now at 21-24, they’ve crept up to the final Play-In spot in the Western Conference and will not be in the habit of dropping shocking games to teams like Utah, which, truth be told, is not interested in stealing one from a winning team in the final half of the season.

The Future of the Clippers

The future is… kinda bleak for the Clippers at the moment, and that’s saying something for one of the most depressing teams in the history of basketball. Constantly in the shadow of their older, golder brothers down the road, the Clips took a chance on the duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and sent their submission to the NBA Finals. But that submission was… how do we put this? Lost in the mail, caught in the shuffle, passed up for more promising prospects, set ablaze in a fiery rage, take your pick.

This era of the Los Angeles Clippers has been one of the most disappointing and cursed in the history of the game. Now with James Harden as their lead and Kawhi Leonard lounging on his recliner on the sidelines, one wonders what this team is capable of accomplishing.

There is no way out. Their stars are already past their primes, declining, and carrying nearly zero trade value. They have no option but to build through the draft. Their roster is expensive yet ineffective, and ownership is so all-in on making this team competitive at any cost. But they hit their ceiling a long time ago. They’re one of the awkward teams stuck in basketball purgatory.

What’s Next?

As much as tanking can hurt a fanbase, it feels far preferable for a team to lose by choice rather than because they have no other choice. The Clippers are forced to cross their fingers and hope their team — as currently constructed — manages to break through behind a core of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Brutal.

So, when these two teams square off, it’s important to understand the greater context of their competition. While Los Angeles is expected to win this game, their trajectory is one of decline, but Utah is just getting started.