(he sat one game late in the season for rest along with Murray and Millsap 🙂 ). Can the Blazers turn the series around tonight in Denver?

Lillard had a good game in game 1 and actually got two complete flop calls on 3 pointers (apparently James Harden has nothing on Lillard who whined and complained after every call all night) and the Blazers lost. Rodney Hood had one of his best games and the Blazers lost. Enes Kanter had a great offensive night and the Blazers lost.

I am a Nuggets fan and am certainly biases, but when watching the game there appears to be a major talent gap in the two teams. Jokic and Lillard are both superstars in the league. McCollum is a good player as is Jamal Murray. Then the talent gap becomes big. Paul Millsap and Gary Harris are far better than any of the next players for the Blazers. Kanter was picked up off of the scrap heap (and good for the Blazers because without him they would have no inside presence). Aminu and Harkless have trouble scoring and aren't particularly good on defense. Zach Collins is athletic but struggles defensively, especially with Jokic's size and strength. Meyers Leonard shouldn't be playing in the playoffs with his skill level. Seth Curry is a good scorer off of the bench, but the Nuggets have Monte Morris, Malik Beasley and Will Barton that can do that. I have a feeling without Nurkic that Plumlee would be the Blazers starting center (which he was before he was traded for Nurkic).

Honestly if I am the Blazers I think I send a strong double against Jokic every possession (they have no answer for Jokic) and just hope the Nuggets can't make a 3-pointer. Denver was a middle of the pack 3 point shooting team for the season and honestly I believe that is the Blazers best chance. That or the refs giving them every call (not saying it will happen, but in the NBA it has the ability to happen) to even up the series (the NBA likes competitive series).