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Portland Trail Blazers: Power Ranking Northwest Division after week one

By Carson Brown

PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives against Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter during a preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives against Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter during a preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Jamal Murray #27 speaks with teammate Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Jamal Murray #27 speaks with teammate Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

1. Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets only had two games on their opening week slate and they won them both getting their season started exactly planned.

Their opening night win against Trail Blazers was very impressive as Nikola Jokic found himself in foul trouble and only played 24 minutes. The Nuggets went to overtime with the Suns which seems bad, but the Suns have played very well and have a win over the Clippers.

Jokic was phenomenal in his first two performances as he averaged 21.5 points with 13.5 rebounds and 7 assists. Jokic’s all-around game makes him one of the best centers in the league and a candidate for MVP.

Jamal Murray is fresh off signing a 170 million dollar contract and he started the season appearing to be worth every penny. Murray averaged 20.5 points a game while contributing on the glass with 6 rebounds and dishing out nearly 5 assists a night. Murray was red hot from behind the arc shooting 46 percent on 5.5 attempts per game.

The Nuggets depth is what makes this team so special. Nobody else on the roster had insane performances but the Nuggets had 4 others average double-digits. Barton, Beasley, Grant, and Harris all totaled over 10 points a night while Millsap contributed 9.5 per contest.

Surprisingly we weren’t given the opportunity to see Michael Porter Jr. play even though he appeared healthy and played well during his preseason action. MPJ didn’t see a single second of playing time through the Nuggets first 2 games.

Next. Terry Stotts has a new secret weapon up his sleeve. dark

The Nuggets are in Sacramento Monday night to face the struggling Kings and return home Tuesday for a matchup with Luka Doncic and the Mavs. The Nuggets finish their week with two games on the road including a Thursday night matchup against the winless Pelicans followed by a Saturday evening game in Orlando versus the Magic.