Game 2 Rd 2 Portland vs Denver 6:00pm Wednesday 6:00pm

[DaVoiceMaster]

Maybe I'm biased but watching Jokic makes me angry. Moving picks all day long, shoving, holding. It's like watching a big Chris Paul. If he starts whining and doing State farm commercials I'm out.

So he's basically Jusef Nurkic I think opposing fans think the same about Nurk. We have to be careful calling the kettle black when our pot is just as sooted.

Except Nurkic gets called for the fouls, Jokic not so much.

[zzaj]

I predicted Blazers in 6, and this split doesn't really do anything to change that for me. I think the Blazers will split their 2 home games. These teams are very close. Each has the ability to win on the other's home floor.

Murray's thigh is a concern for them, although he was still able to come in and hit a big 3pter to counter CJ's the play before. I expect him to play and have an impact.

Whereas, if Harkless is out that is a pretty big blow for the Blazers. His length and help ability on defense against the Nuggets (specifically Jokic) is important. Over the years, it seems like it's a little bit of 'all or nothing at all' with Mo and his injuries--when he's healthy, there is a chance of getting good Mo. When he has a nagging injury, there is almost no chance he'll have an impact. It's almost as if he can't move his focus from the injury on to the game at hand.

I'm holding out hope for Mo after watching him walk off the court, although looking at the replay of that sprain I wouldn't put any money on it.

[DaVoiceMaster]

The Blazers have to be feeling pretty good. They went into Denver and came out with a split. Can't ask for much more than that. Now they're back home where they have not lost in the playoffs and won the previous 6-8 matches, as well (I heard something on the radio the other day that they won like 12 home games in a row or something). What concerns me is Jokic and what the ref's let him get away with. I expect Stotts to figure out the rebounding issue. I also expect the Blazers to do well whether Harkless is back or not. Hood has done well this series so there's no reason to think he won't continue if Mo can't go (I know, there is reason, but...). I would think Murray will be okay by Friday night.

On a side note: I really like this Beasley guy. I gotta admit, I've never heard of him before, but the dude is killing it from deep and at the rim.

[zzaj]

The Blazers have to be feeling pretty good. They went into Denver and came out with a split. Can't ask for much more than that. Now they're back home where they have not lost in the playoffs and won the previous 6-8 matches, as well (I heard something on the radio the other day that they won like 12 home games in a row or something). What concerns me is Jokic and what the ref's let him get away with. I expect Stotts to figure out the rebounding issue. I also expect the Blazers to do well whether Harkless is back or not. Hood has done well this series so there's no reason to think he won't continue if Mo can't go (I know, there is reason, but...). I would think Murray will be okay by Friday night.

On a side note: I really like this Beasley guy. I gotta admit, I've never heard of him before, but the dude is killing it from deep and at the rim.

Yeah, I think Lillard's smile as the final buzzer sounded is probably a tell of the temperature of the team. It's no small feat to win a game against the team with the best homecourt record in the NBA. I would imagine a 1-1 split was a team goal...just get one game before heading home.

And I'm totally with you on Beasley. I remember he had an injury that didn't allow him to do predraft workouts, but he still got picked in the middle of the first round. If he can continue to be consistent with his 3pt% and put in effort on defense, he'll be around the league for a long time.

[monopoman]

Lillard might also be smiling because I assume most thought Lillard had to drop 40+ in a game on great shooting to win in Denver. Feels good to have a subpar game and still go home with the W, when you are clearly the teams best player.

[PDXKnight]

Lillard might also be smiling because I assume most thought Lillard had to drop 40+ in a game on great shooting to win in Denver. Feels good to have a subpar game and still go home with the W, when you are clearly the teams best player.

Yes very positive sign, he cannot play any worse offensively!

[Shem]

The reffing was so bad that Nick from BBall Breakdown called it out:

Watch on YouTube

[Sinobas]

The NBA doesn't want small market teams to advance. The video clearly shows how the refs swayed the game at least 12 points in Denver's favor through terrible officiating. It would have been a blow out victory for Portland. The one thing he gets wrong in his video...Portland doesn't get homecourt calls.

[monopoman]

The reffing was so bad that Nick from BBall Breakdown called it out:

Watch on YouTube

This is such a bad look for the NBA you know it's bad when the only ones that think the refs were fine were Denver fans.

[monopoman]

The NBA doesn't want small market teams to advance. The video clearly shows how the refs swayed the game at least 12 points in Denver's favor through terrible officiating. It would have been a blow out victory for Portland. The one thing he gets wrong in his video...Portland doesn't get homecourt calls.

Denver is a small market team also, they might be slightly larger than Portland but both cities are considered small markets for sure. Portland has 647k people via last census, Denver has 704k via the last census very close. **** Denver cares a lot more about their football team than their basketball team anyways.

[Sinobas]

The NBA doesn't want small market teams to advance. The video clearly shows how the refs swayed the game at least 12 points in Denver's favor through terrible officiating. It would have been a blow out victory for Portland. The one thing he gets wrong in his video...Portland doesn't get homecourt calls.

Denver is a small market team also, they might be slightly larger than Portland but both cities are considered small markets for sure. Portland has 647k people via last census, Denver has 704k via the last census very close. **** Denver cares a lot more about their football team than their basketball team anyways.

And yet the NB fn A still sticking it to Portland as usual, and treating Jokic like he's michael jordan, and treating Damian like he's nothing.

[deanwoof]

Arent most NFL markets more popular than their NBA counterparts?

The NBA doesn't want small market teams to advance. The video clearly shows how the refs swayed the game at least 12 points in Denver's favor through terrible officiating. It would have been a blow out victory for Portland. The one thing he gets wrong in his video...Portland doesn't get homecourt calls.

Denver is a small market team also, they might be slightly larger than Portland but both cities are considered small markets for sure. Portland has 647k people via last census, Denver has 704k via the last census very close. **** Denver cares a lot more about their football team than their basketball team anyways.

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[Shem]

The NBA doesn't want small market teams to advance. The video clearly shows how the refs swayed the game at least 12 points in Denver's favor through terrible officiating. It would have been a blow out victory for Portland. The one thing he gets wrong in his video...Portland doesn't get homecourt calls.

Denver is a small market team also, they might be slightly larger than Portland but both cities are considered small markets for sure. Portland has 647k people via last census, Denver has 704k via the last census very close. **** Denver cares a lot more about their football team than their basketball team anyways.

When it comes to sports markets, it's the metro area population they go by in terms of market size. Denver has a metro area of 2,932,415. Portland has 2,478,810.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas