{"id":137311,"date":"2025-05-02T11:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T15:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=137311"},"modified":"2025-05-02T11:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T15:49:18","slug":"to-batum-or-not-to-dunn-that-is-the-clippers-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/02\/to-batum-or-not-to-dunn-that-is-the-clippers-question\/","title":{"rendered":"To Batum Or Not To Dunn, That Is the Clippers’ Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Harden<\/a> responded after facing widespread criticism<\/a> for his previous performance. After a quiet Game 5 where he scored just 11 points, he delivered 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Kawhi Leonard<\/a> added 27 points and 10 rebounds. Norman Powell<\/a> had his best outing of the series, scoring 24 points off the bench. The Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> leaned on offensive execution and a bold halftime adjustment. That change? Head coach Ty Lue replaced Kris Dunn<\/a> with Nicolas Batum<\/a> to begin the third quarter. This switch altered everything.<\/p>\n

To Batum Or Not To Dunn, That Is the Clippers’ Question<\/h2>\n

Clippers Flip the Script<\/h3>\n

Dunn had become a liability. The Denver Nuggets<\/a> repeatedly ignored him on offense, sending his defender to help trap Harden. That tactic kept Harden in check during earlier games. Lue saw it, then made the call. Batum entered and stretched the floor instantly. He provided spacing, calm decision-making, and sharp defense. The Clippers began to flow.<\/p>\n

They hit six straight shots off Batum passes in the second half. Offense looked smooth again. The Clippers\u2019 lead grew, and Denver never caught up.<\/p>\n

Batum Shines on Both Ends<\/h3>\n

Batum didn\u2019t just help on offense. He shined on defense too. According<\/a> to Genius IQ, he guarded both Jamal Murray<\/a> and Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> for at least 15 half-court possessions each. That type of versatility is rare. Jokic noticed and praised Batum.<\/p>\n

\u201cBatum is a much better shooter than Kris Dunn,\u201d Joki\u0107\u00a0admitted<\/a>. \u201cHe can guard all five positions. They didn\u2019t lose anything on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words matched the stats. Murray exploded for 43 points in Game 5. In Game 6, Batum helped hold him to just 21.<\/p>\n

Ty Lue\u2019s High-Stakes Dilemma<\/h3>\n

Ty Lue now faces a choice. Should the Clippers start the veteran Batum in Game 7 or return to Dunn?<\/p>\n

The answer may lie in how the Clippers opened the floor in Game 6. With Batum, Denver couldn\u2019t double Harden so aggressively. Lue knows the Clippers<\/a> must maximize spacing. That means Batum might start. However, Dunn brings grit and toughness. He defends well and has played key minutes all season. Lue appreciated that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thanked Dunn and Ben Simmons,\u201d Lue said<\/a>. \u201cThey stayed ready. They understood the change was about winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stats Say It All<\/h3>\n

Dunn has never been a reliable shooter. His career average from three is 32.7% on two attempts per game. This year, he tried three per game and hit 33.5%. In the playoffs, he\u2019s at 34.6% on 4.3 tries.<\/p>\n

Game 5 was solid\u2014he went 3-for-4 from deep. But the problem is consistency. Defenders still sag off Dunn. That gives the defense an extra body to stop Harden. The Clippers can\u2019t afford that in what will be a slugfest in Game 7.<\/p>\n

Harden and Lue\u2019s Legacy Looms<\/h3>\n

Game 6 marked Harden\u2019s first elimination win since 2020. Lue, meanwhile, holds the second-best elimination game record among coaches with at least 15 games. This team has experience. But experience doesn\u2019t guarantee success.<\/p>\n

Lue must make the right call. Will it be the spacing of Batum or the defense of Dunn? The Clippers’ Batum – Dunn question could define their playoff fate.<\/p>\n

Game 7 Awaits<\/h3>\n

Denver has played six Game 7s since 2019. They\u2019re no strangers to high-stakes moments. Jokic said<\/a> it best:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you like basketball\u2014real basketball\u2014this is the game to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clippers fans hope the team makes the right move. That may mean leaning on Batum\u2019s experience and shooting. Because in a game where every possession matters, the Clippers choosing Batum over Dunn might make all the difference.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Harden responded after facing widespread criticism for his previous performance. After a quiet Game 5 where he scored just 11 points, he delivered 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and 10 rebounds. Norman Powell had his best outing of the series, scoring 24 points off the bench. The Los Angeles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":137315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,20,27],"tags":[50041,109,444,168,458,282,72,716,612],"class_list":["post-137311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-clippers","tag-2025-nba-playoffs","tag-jamal-murray","tag-james-harden","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-kris-dunn","tag-nicolas-batum","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-norman-powell","tag-tyronn-lue"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137316,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137311\/revisions\/137316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}