The Los Angeles Clippers will be taking on the Denver Nuggets in their first round playoff series starting this weekend. That means Russell Westbrook will get to face off against former teammates Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
Westbrook has been a crucial part of the Nuggets bench this season, but he's also playing against a team that knows him probably better than anyone else right now.
Russell Westbrook played 75 games for the Nuggets this season, including 36 starts, averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 32.3 percent from three.
His addition came as a boost to a Nuggets core that lost Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in each of the last two offseasons.
When asked how much playing against former teammates and the familiarity that comes with it matters, Westbrook confirmed it's not something to ignore.
“It matters,” Russell Westbrook said of facing James Harden and Kawhi Leoanrd. “It matters. And also, you know, James is going to make shots. He’s a really really good offensive player, but defensively for myself and our team, it definitely matters. There are some tendencies and different things of that nature.”
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In four games against Denver this season, Clippers guard James Harden averaged 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game, but shot just 39.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three.
Kawhi Leonard, however, did not play in any of the four Clippers-Nuggets matchups this season. three of the games took place before he made his return on January 4th and he was forced out of another due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
“[He makes a] big difference,” Russell Westbrook added. “I mean Kawhi is really really good. He impacts winning in different ways, not just scoring the basketball. He’s a hell of a player. He does a great job of getting to his spots and when he’s playing at a high level, it makes them a really really good team.”
The Clippers and Nuggets will tip off their first round playoff series this Saturday afternoon at 12:30PM PST.
