Three keys to Game 2
Defensive adjustments. Game 1 against Portland felt like a barnburner compared to what Denver saw against San Antonio. Using high screens and crafty moves, Blazers star Damian Lillard forced his way to the rack despite the best efforts of and . Every basket that Lillard scored came via one of his 3-pointers (four) or downhill drives to the rim. Itap not an easy task, but the Nuggets need to shore up their pick-and-roll coverage with how ball dominant both Lillard and C.J. McCollum can be. Almost half of Portland’s shots came from those two guys. They also can be better on the glass, where they were outrebounded 40-34 after a dominant regular season in that regard.
. What can Portland do to stop the big guy? In eight postseason games, Jokic is averaging 24.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists. He’s shooting over 50 percent from the field and knocking down more than 37 percent of his 3-point attempts. His playoff assist average ranks second in the entire postseason field. Against a healthy frontcourt, his combination of size, strength, finesse and range is still a huge task defensively. The Blazers have a battered frontline led by injured forward Enes Kanter, who suffered a separated shoulder in the first-round series, and don’t seem to have any answers to slow him down.
Bench play. Give Blazers wing Rodney Hood credit. After a quiet first round, Hood sliced the Nuggets for 17 points and three 3-pointers off the bench Monday night. He might be the Blazers’ best answer to counter Denver’s bench production. At various times in Game 1, each one of the Nuggets’ four rotation players off the bench – , , and – made huge contributions. Beasley hit two clutch 3-pointers, Plumlee finished off several big dunks, Barton carried the offense in the second quarter and Morris, though in reduced time, played his steady brand of basketball.
