NBA Playoffs preview: Denver Nuggets' three key factors as hosts look to bounce back vs Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2
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Monday 24 May 2021 18:30, UK
In many ways, Game 1 of the Denver Nuggets' first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers went according to the expected script.
Denver received a dominant scoring performance from Nikola Jokić (34 points), and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 25 points, but the Nuggets couldn't find a rhythm from beyond the arc and struggled to contain the Blazers defensively as Portland pulled away for a 123-109 victory.
This has left the hosts in a hole ahead of Monday night's match-up (tip-off at 3am Tuesday morning, in the UK).
In Game 1, Denver finished 11-of-36 from beyond the arc compared to 19-of-40 for Portland, who was led by Damian Lillard (34 points and 13 assists). Although the Nuggets had an advantage on the glass (48 rebounds to 39 for the Trail Blazers), Portland moved the ball more effectively and finished with seven more assists on the night.
Now the focus shifts to what adjustments will be made in Game 2, especially for a Nuggets team desperate to hold serve at home to begin the series.
Key matchup: Facundo Campazzo vs. Damian Lillard
This really isn't about Campazzo's individual defense against Lillard, but rather Denver's defensive strategy defending the pick-and-roll against the dynamic scoring guard.
In Game 1, Denver alternated between an aggressive coverage by blitzing the pick-and-roll (a "blitz" is where both the defender guarding the screener and the defender guarding the ball-handler execute a double-team of the ball-handler immediately off the screen) and more of a conservative drop coverage with Jokić hanging back closer to the paint.
However, nothing seemed to work against Lillard and the Trail Blazers' high-powered offense, as Portland finished with a 134.4 offensive rating during non-garbage time minutes. Lillard was either able to get a running start at Jokić when the Serbian big man wasn't at the level of the screen, or Portland was able to effectively move the ball around the perimeter to find the open shooter, which resulted in that 47.5 percent shooting performance from downtown.
Increasing ball movement on offense
Perhaps the most glaring stat from Game 1 was Jokić finishing with just one assist on the night. For a man who is one of the league's most prolific triple-double machines, this is troubling for the Nuggets.
With Denver's offense running through the three-time All-Star, Portland opted to let Jokić get his points in one-on-one settings, thus allowing the other Trail Blazers defenders to stay with their man, taking away some of the cuts that fuel Denver's offense.
The question now is how to force mismatches for Jokic to attack and therefore create opportunities to pick apart a potential double-team from the Trail Blazers. One potential solution could be to run more inverted pick-and-rolls with Jokic as the ball-handler and one of Denver's guards or wings setting the screen, thus potentially creating open driving lines, pick-and-pop opportunities, or switches that allow Jokić to go to work in the post.
Live NBA Playoffs 8: Denver @ Portland 29.05 2130
It must be pointed out that Jokic did have eight potential assists in Game 1, but his team-mates only converted on one of those eight opportunities. Regardless, that is still a low number of potential assists for the best passing big man of all time, who has driven Denver's offense for years with his blend of scoring and passing.
3-point defense
Perhaps there is no key more important over the next week than Denver's ability to defend the 3-point line.
It will have to be said repeatedly throughout a series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
For a Portland squad that averaged nearly 41 attempts from downtown and 15.7 made 3-pointers per game during the regular season, Denver's focus must be on selling out to limit the Trail Blazers' effectiveness from beyond the arc.
In Game 1, that wasn't the case for the Nuggets, as Portland was able to generate quality look after quality look from the 3-point line. Once again, a big factor in this matchup is how Denver guards the initial pick-and-roll set, as that will dictate how the off-ball defenders must rotate to cut off the open passing opportunities.
All eyes will be on how Denver adjusts defensively in Game 2 and what impact that has on Portland's 3-point shooting.
