Playoffs 2021, Game 2: Portland Trail Blazers (1) @ Denver Nuggets (0) - 7:30PM

[skywalker33]

That halftime really helped out, cooled off Lillard just when we needed it.

[skywalker33]

Really thought Dame would get that 3pt record, AG really held him down. Great Job AG !

[Moonbeam]

Congrats on the win, Nuggets fans! Looks like we're in for a very interesting series. Hopefully both teams can remain as healthy as they currently are. Would have been great to see Murray play in this series.

[skywalker33]

Congrats on the win, Nuggets fans! Looks like we're in for a very interesting series. Hopefully both teams can remain as healthy as they currently are. Would have been great to see Murray play in this series.

Best series in the playoff IMO (ok I'm biased), health is a big concern but we may get Barton back on the court, hopefully, he'll give us a lift against a scorching POR team. BYW, where is Lillard's God-like shooting switch, someone needs to flip that switch to OFF ?

[skywalker33]

Gotta say I'm looking at Facu a lot differently than I did early in the season, he's a pest on defense and he has stepped up his game. his Euro experience showing in the playoffs.

Looking to see if Barton can come back and provide a spark, any updates on him ??

[GeorgeSears]

Gotta say I'm looking at Facu a lot differently than I did early in the season, he's a pest on defense and he has stepped up his game. his Euro experience showing in the playoffs.

Looking to see if Barton can come back and provide a spark, any updates on him ??

Facu has been growing on me, but he's still too inconsistent to play large minutes IMO. I prefer PGs that are a threat from the 3pt line. It helps open everything up. He's ideal coming off the bench and giving a good 15-20 minutes. But because of the circumstances, he has to play heavy minutes and he's doing a decent job thus far.

According to the broadcast, Barton could be back for Portland. Honestly, I'd rather have PJ back for the defense but Barton coming off the bench and giving you 13-15 points could be nice.

[Moonbeam]

Congrats on the win, Nuggets fans! Looks like we're in for a very interesting series. Hopefully both teams can remain as healthy as they currently are. Would have been great to see Murray play in this series.

Best series in the playoff IMO (ok I'm biased), health is a big concern but we may get Barton back on the court, hopefully, he'll give us a lift against a scorching POR team. BYW, where is Lillard's God-like shooting switch, someone needs to flip that switch to OFF ?

Hope Will the Thrill can make a return.

Lillard's shooting is dazzling when it's on, but he is prone to cold streaks as well, particularly when players guard him tightly. He was pretty much unstoppable in the first half, and that can happen at times regardless of the defense, but it's not reliable to expect Lillard to be an automatic flamethrower.

The teams that have had the best success in containing Lillard (including the Nuggets 2 years ago!), do so by trapping him from 30' and making him fight through double teams or pass out.

[THE J0KER]

Lillard can't play better than he played in the 1st half (8 threes, over 30 points) but the Nuggets still lead at halftime with double-digit (73-61). In 2nd half, Gordon arguably upset him. These 2 big notes about Lillard from this game can be important about this series final result. Also, their forwards Powell, Covington, and Melo used to be all-around players but tonight they TOGETHER have just 3 rebounds and 1 single assist in about 80 minutes... unreal!

Jokic doing his MVP things, Porter's threes are back, Gordon playing big defense... but we really need something from our bench against Portland, and I really like how Morris and Millsap responded this time.

[Mavrelous]

Is there an ETA for Dozier or Barton?

[NuggetsWY]

Word of the day ::: adjustments

Will Coach Malone make any significant adjustments?
Will the Nuggets' players make any significant adjustments?
Offensive adjustments?
Defensive adjustments?

We all have our ideas, but our ideas aren't going to win the game.

Coach agreed to Gordon's request to adjust to covering Lillard!
Coach played Morris 30 minutes --- those two changes were important IMO.

I didn't see any major offensive adjustments from the Nuggets, they just hit a lot of shots - especially Jokic at 15-20. But offense is not usually the Nuggets' problem.

Great game, loved it, but Portland will make a comeback and it looks like it's going to be a tough series.

I don't expect Covington to go 1-3 every game, but he can tend to disappear.
I also don't expect Melo to go 1-5 again.

But YEAH! As we knew, Denver can definitely win - at least this series and IMO, any series when they play their game!

[skywalker33]

Is there an ETA for Dozier or Barton?

Dozier probably won't be a available until the 2nd round but Barton may be back by Thursday

[skywalker33]

Dame was amazing in the 1st half, going off for 32pts. However, once AG started guarding him in the 2nd half, he only scored 10pts....I can see a strategy developing here. Shut down Dame, POR is done.

[skywalker33]

Personally, after game 1 I thought POR couldn't sustain their 3pt shooting percentage, going for nearly 48% was very improbable. But sure enough, Dame leads the way with another 3pt barrage but this time we won. Live by the 3, die by the 3

[NuggetsWY]

Don't forget: Lillard average almost 30 pts per game
but McCollum averaged over 20 pts per game
and Powell was close to McCollum's 20.