The Clippers hope to continue their strong November-December performance with a home game against the always strong Denver Nuggets.

Game information

Where: Inuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:00 p.m. PT

Here’s how to watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Expected starting lineups

Hair clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Amir Coffey – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac

Nuggets: Jamal Murray – Christian Braun – Peyton Watson – Michael Porter Jr. – Nikola Jokic

Injuries

Hair clippers: Kawhi Leonard is out (knee), Norm Powell Questionable (hamstring), Kevin Porter Jr. is out (ankle), Kobe Brown is out (back), PJ Tucker is out (outside the team), Trentyn Flowers is out (G -League), Cam Christie From (G-League)

Nuggets: Aaron Gordon Doubtful (calf), Vlatko Cancar is out (knee), DaRon Holmes is out (Achilles)

The antagonist

Even though the Nuggets had a bit of a disappointing start to the season, they have somewhat turned things around and increased their record to 10-7. The Nuggets’ defense was mediocre at best, but their offense was very good, as expected. The reason is simple: Nikola Jokic is by far the best player in the NBA. If he’s on the court, the Nuggets will be a very solid team at worst. His scoring ability, playmaking and ability to command the game are all incredible floor-leveling talents, and the Nuggets have just enough competent talent around him to put together a good record. Once they get Aaron Gordon back, the Nuggets could conceivably reach “very good” or even “great” again, although I’m skeptical unless they get a better version of Jamal Murray than before.

Notes

Rotations in the flow: After being extremely healthy outside of Mo Bamba for the first 15 games of the season (I’m not even going to count Kawhi at this point), the Clippers have been plagued by injuries in recent weeks. Norm Powell is close to returning after a semi-long absence, but Kobe Brown is still out and now Kevin Porter Jr. is out too. Porter Jr. probably won’t be out for long, but it will be interesting to see how Ty Lue handles his absence. If Norm is still out, that will essentially require minutes from Bones Hyland. If Norm plays, Amir will return to the bench and Ty could theoretically put together a second unit of Miller, Amir, Mann, Nico and Bamba without a “traditional” point guard. I would guess that Bones only plays when Norm is out, and that the Clippers will simply send Dunn to the bench if Harden gets his breather when Norm plays. But we’ll see!

Russ’ return: This will be Russell Westbrook’s first game back in front of the Clippers faithful since he left in free agency this summer. Russ was with the Clippers for about 1.5 years and during that time he endeared himself to many Clippers supporters with his energy, commitment, relentlessness and willingness to attack. Of course, his inability to shoot and poor decision-making on both sides of the ball also earned him some heat, which wasn’t helped by Russ Stans’ large presence on Twitter. My guess is that when Russ returns, he will be met with a mostly, if not entirely, positive welcome and will likely receive some sort of hype video. While I didn’t like the Russ experience at all, the boos are unwarranted and I think it’s okay to cheer for his intro and video.

Locking up Jamal Murray: Murray wasn’t the same guy he was in previous years, but is still the Nuggets’ second most dangerous and important player. The Clippers have two players who can cover Murray well in Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr., and their role in this game will be paramount. It’s impossible to stop Nikola Jokic, and it’s very difficult to slow Nikola Jokic at all, but if the Clippers can shut down Murray, they should be able to keep the Nuggets’ offense at a reasonable level. Dunn and DJJ have been incredible on defense this year, and defending the two-man game between Murray and Jokic will only be further progress for them if they can help it.