MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — In keeping with the Clippers’ nautical theme, David Adelman acknowledged Friday that Game 4 will be “all hands on deck” for the Nuggets.
Adelman hinted at possible rotation changes during a 10-minute off-day session with reporters at the team hotel. Denver is dealing with several injuries, including Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder sprain, Russell Westbrook’s left foot inflammation, Aaron Gordon’s lingering calf soreness and even Nikola Jokic’s mysterious right elbow affliction.
Westbrook is questionable to play on Saturday (4 p.m. MT) in Game 4 of the first-round series.
“They checked him out this morning. … So we’ll kind of gauge that as we go,” said Adelman, Denver’s interim coach. “And if Russ plays or doesn’t play, we’re gonna take a look at our rotation. We may play different people. See who can impact the game with how (the Clippers) are guarding and how we’re trying to guard.”
Adelman used an eight-man rotation at the start of the series, with Jalen Pickett playing limited minutes as the third player off the bench. Over the course of the series, though, the Nuggets have also tried to steal a few minutes with DeAndre Jordan at backup center. They introduced Julian Strawther in the second half of Game 3 while trailing by double digits, but the second-year shooting guard went scoreless in 11 minutes.
Hunter Tyson and Zeke Nnaji also checked in for garbage time. Vlatko Cancar and Dario Saric are the last remaining players who have not have not appeared in a game yet this series.
“No one’s 100% right now,” Adelman said. “Aaron’s not 100%. Nikola’s not 100%. Just like the Clippers. All their guys have ailments at this part of the season. Michael (Porter) is one of our guys. He’s a mainstay here. If he’s available to play, he will play.”
Adelman said the Nuggets took collective accountability for the fact that “we sucked” in Game 3 — a 34-point loss at Intuit Dome.
“If we win this game, it puts the series in a three-game series,” he said, “which you want, knowing you have two games at home.”
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Originally Published: April 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM MDT
