So much has changed since the last time the Nuggets and Clippers met in the NBA playoffs.

For starters, COVID-19 restrictions are over. The games in this first-round series will be played in Denver and Los Angeles and not at Disney World in Orlando. Both teams have new head coaches. Only five players across both teams remain from a Game 7 the Nuggets won to advance to the Western Conference finals.

The biggest difference lies in one of the few remaining players, the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac.

The ninth-year center from Croatia is not the same player that averaged just over seven points and seven rebounds per game in that series five years ago. He’s evolved into a player the Nuggets will dedicate a large chunk of their game plan to starting with Game 1 on Saturday at Ball Arena (1:30 p.m. ESPN).

“His whole career, he’s changed,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said. “It’s funny, with the Lakers when he was young, they featured him a lot and posted him up. When he got to the Clippers, he became more of a roller, defensive guy (who) didn’t really touch the ball. Now, it’s everything. He posts up, he’s a playmaker in the pocket. It seems like they rely on him a lot more.

“We talk so much about the stars in our league. Sometimes, you gotta take a breath and look at the whole league and somebody like (Zubac) who deserves his flowers for how much he’s gotten better over these years.”

That is evident when you pull up Zubac’s year-over-year stats. This season, he averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game (nearly five points better than his previous best) on an efficient 64% true shooting rate and a career-high 12.6 rebounds per game (leading the entire NBA in total rebounds with over 1,000).

He’s more than just a guy who benefits from playing with James Harden, one of the best pick-and-roll operators the game has seen. Zubac made more hook shots than any post player in the league and is also tops in putback field goals.

Defensively, he has a strong case to win Defensive Player of the Year as the anchor of a unit that ranked third in the NBA in defensive efficiency, ranking eighth in the league defensive field goal percentage allowed at the rim. He did so while committing just 3.2 fouls per 100 possessions.

If there’s a team that can stick its center on an island against Nikola Jokic, it’s the Clippers with Zubac.

“On the (Jokic) post ups, we trust him. Our coaches trust him, our players trust him. He’s been really good for us,” L.A. coach Tyronn Lue said. “We know Joker’s gonna be a lot to handle. It won’t be Zu by himself a lot, but we understand it’s a tough task. We gotta get him out of foul trouble, keep him on the floor and go from there.”

Of course, it won’t be just Zubac guarding him on his own as the Clippers’ stout defense is boosted by other premier defenders like Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum. But he’s going to make life difficult for Jokic and the Nuggets offense that relies more on points in the paint than any other team in the NBA.

“He’s a really good defender,” Jokic said. “He’s a big body who can block all the shots. He’s always there being physical.”

The battle of the Balkan big men might just decide who wins this highly anticipated series.

“I’ve played against him a lot for a long period of time,” Jokic said. “I think he’s really improving. He was kinda one dimensional before, but now he can post up, he can pass it from the pocket, so he’s really evolving his game. He’s getting better and he’s gonna get more involved. It’s gonna be a fun matchup.”

The Ivica Zubac file

Nationality: Croatian

Height: 7-foot-0

Weight: 240 pounds

Experience: 9th season

Points per game (2024-25 season): 16.8 (career-high)

Rebounds per game: 12.6 (career-high)

Assists per game: 2.7 (career-high)

Field goal %: 62.8

Win shares: 11.7