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The best series of the 2025 NBA Playoffs so far has been the battles between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference. These two teams have a history with one another in the playoffs, and it has shown during the two tight games played in Denver, both of which came down to the final possessions.
It was the Nuggets who pulled out a hard-fought victory in Game 1, defeating the Clippers 112-110 in overtime behind Nikola Jokic's 29 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds. Russell Westbrook also stepped up in a big way with a go-ahead three-point shot late in the fourth quarter, and he made a huge defensive play against James Harden in overtime.
The script was flipped in Game 2 on Monday night, as it was Kawhi Leonard's turn to take over the series with 39 points, 12 of which came in the final quarter of play. Whenever LA needed a bucket, Leonard answered the call, and he was able to even this series at one game apiece with a 105-102 road win in Denver.
This series is now heading to Los Angeles for the next two games. Each of the first two games has gone down to the wire and been decided by one possession. A razor-thin margin for error exists between these two teams, setting up the most important game of this series in the Intuit Dome's playoff debut.
Steve Ballmer invested billions into a new state-of-the-art arena in Inglewood, Calif., to give his team a competitive advantage over others, and his philosophy seemed to work with the Clippers posting a 30-11 record at home during the regular season. These two teams met once with the Clippers as the home team this season, and LA won this game 126-122 in December.
With a win in Game 3, LA can completely seize control of this series and Denver's home-court advantage. On the other side, the Nuggets can regain control of the series and have the upper hand with more home games should they be able to break right back.
That is why this game on Thursday night is so important. Through two games, this series has been competitive and physical. These two teams have embodied exactly what playoff basketball should look like.
As a result, their reward is a demotion, as the NBA has scheduled this game to be played on NBA TV instead of being a nationally televised game like the first two meetings.
Fans want to see Nuggets and Clippers on main networks
Although not every playoff series is through two games as of Tuesday, the Nuggets and Clippers have played the two best games this postseason. Fans want to be able to watch how this series unfolds, especially given the championship aspirations both teams hold.
Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden are four of the best talents the Western Conference has to offer. All four stars have been physical and playing at a tremendously high level.
Now, fans without the ability to watch NBA TV will be forced to follow live updates on what is the best series to this point in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. This needs to change, and the NBA needs to take a similar approach to the NFL regarding the ability to flex games on their TV schedule.
While other teams deserve a chance to play on national television, especially the 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder for their 68-win season, nobody wants to see them figuratively murder the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder obliterated the Grizzlies by 51 points in Game 1 of their series, and there is no reason to believe another blowout isn't on the horizon for OKC in Game 2.
The third game between the Thunder and Memphis will be played Thursday night and is scheduled around the same time as Nuggets-Clippers Game 3. This is no slight to the Thunder, as they are the 1-seed, and that comes with the perks of always having nationally televised games. But NBA fans and media members alike want the thrilling and riveting matchup of Denver and LA.
Nobody gets enjoyment out of watching the Thunder steamroll past the Grizzlies into the second round of the playoffs. That is why everyone is annoyed that the NBA won't be changing their playoff television schedule regarding the Clippers and Nuggets.
Is it too late to flex the Clippers-Nuggets off of NBA TV for Game 3 and put them on actual national television?
— Robert Flom (@RichHomieFlom) April 22, 2025
Game 3, series tied 1-1 between the evenly-matched Clippers and Nuggets. Coming off a spectacular first two games decided in clutch moments.
Intuit Dome's playoff debut.
Tune in … to NBA TV on Thursday night, folks!
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) April 22, 2025
Pretty sure the person who put Clippers vs Nuggets Game 3 on NBATV should receive some kind of fine.
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) April 22, 2025
Perhaps the big problem for the NBA is that they have multiple playoff games overlapping with one another at the same time.
It is obviously hard to come up with a schedule that works for all 16 teams in the playoffs and to coordinate the eight first-round series, but basketball fans don't want to miss a second of the high-level action.
This is especially true in the middle-seed matchups like the case here with the 4-seed Nuggets and 5-seed Clippers.
Either team is capable of winning this series, which is why it can easily go seven games with a winner-takes-all matchup at the end. That is why having Game 3 on a network not everyone can watch is shocking. Not to mention, this is the Clippers' playoff debut in their brand-new Intuit Dome, as NBA reporter Shane Young alluded to in his plea for the league to change the schedule.
This is a slap in the face to both the Nuggets and the Clippers. Denver recently won the NBA Finals in 2023, and LA has been one of the hottest teams in the league during the second half of the 2024-25 regular season.
Instead of fans being able to enjoy what will likely be another one- or two-possession game in the fourth quarter, they can instead tune in and watch the Thunder dismantle the Grizzlies in what will be a quick series on TNT.
The eye test does not lie, and it says to put the Nuggets and Clippers on national television so that everyone can watch all seven games of this series.
