NBA Playoffs Wednesday: Greg Frank picks Clippers vs Nuggets and knows it's all about the D

Clippers (-8) @ Nuggets (221)

Pick: Nuggets +8

In Game 3 on Monday night, Jamal Murray had just 14 points on 5-17 shooting and 2-7 from three-point land for the Nuggets as Denver fell behind 2-1 in the series suffering a 113-107 loss against the Clippers. If I would have told you those were going to be Murray’s stats from the field, you probably would have expected the Nuggets to get obliterated. That’s what happened in Game 1 of this series as Murray went just 5-15 from the field and 2-8 from the three-point line and the Clippers won going away 120-97.

The fact that Denver was very much in the game on Monday makes the Nuggets a great value tonight catching this many points. After the Game 1 blowout loss, the Nuggets have certainly proved they belong on the same floor as the Clippers and with a chance to even the series tonight, why would that change? Defense is usually a calling card for Denver, and therefore the 120 and 113 points the Clippers scored in Games 1 and 3 is a concern, but if the Nuggets can keep a high-scoring game close like they did on Monday with Murray having an off night, why can’t they do the same tonight? I wouldn’t be surprised if Denver got even tonight so I’m certainly going to take the eight points.