Home cooking: The Nuggets were loose at Saturday’s practice, which ended with both a 3-point shooting contest and an impromptu dunk off. There is comfort in knowing a Game 7 is in front of a friendly crowd, which boosted the Nuggets to an NBA-best 34-7 record at home this season. In the three games at the Pepsi Center in this series, the Nuggets have five guys averaging double-figures, led by Nikola Jokic’s 26 points per game; the Blazers have four behind Damian Lillard’s 25 points per night. The other marked difference is on the glass, where the Nuggets have enjoyed a 51-43 edge over the three games in Denver.
Collins and Hood: Blazers coach Terry Stotts has found two valuable players on his bench that have disproportionately impacted the series. Blazers center Zach Collins is a physical, athletic presence who helps vary the defensive looks against Jokic. He had 14 points and five blocks in Game 6 alone. The other guy who’s raised his level of play is Hood, a non-factor as recently as the first round. But Hood has been fantastic in the clutch and has been the difference in at least two Blazers wins.
Paul Millsap’s resurgence: If we assume Jokic and Jamal Murray are relative constants in terms of production, Denver’s next most important player becomes Millsap. He had his worst game of the series in Game 6, missing a ton of inside looks he’d been making throughout the series. He’s a mismatch the Nuggets feel they can exploit.
“I expect it to be pretty heated,” Millsap said Saturday. “Emotions will flare here and there. The team thatap the most poised and the most calm is going to be the team thatap victorious. Hopefully itap us.”
