After finishing their 2024-25 regular season on a three-game winning streak, the Denver Nuggets earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference and will now face off against the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.
This is possibly the most highly anticipated first-round playoff matchup this season, as fans are in for a treat with Nuggets three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic facing off against Clippers stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
However, a storyline that is not being talked about enough ahead of this exciting matchup is Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook facing off against his former team.
Westbrook recently played one-and-a-half seasons with the Clippers before signing with the Nuggets in the 2024 offseason, as his time in LA did not go as smoothly as planned. The nine-time All-Star and 2017 NBA MVP winner has found a much better home in Denver, averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season.
Ahead of his first-round matchup against the Clippers, Westbrook was asked if any part of him "gets up" as he faces his former team and is back in his hometown of Los Angeles.
"I get up every night and compete, regardless of who the matchup is," Westbrook said. "Fortunately for me, I get to go home, see my kids and take them to school.”
This series will certainly be the most action-packed of the bench, and Westbrook going against his former team will undoubtedly add some fuel to the fire, even if he downplays it.
The Nuggets and Clippers will face off for game one of their series in Denver on Saturday.
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