1. Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simons will dictate the series
The Portland Trail Blazers found themselves down early in the first quarter. Then, boos started to rain down from the Ball Arena. The Blazers hadn’t made their run yet, though; the jeers were for former Denver superstar Carmelo Anthony. Melo made quick work letting the Nuggets faithful know how he felt about their response as he checked into the game for the first time.
In five quick minutes, Anthony poured in 12 points, turning a three-point deficit into a five-point Blazers lead to end the first period. Melo would go on to finish with four 3-pointers, three of which came from that five minute stretch in the opening quarter. The Blazers are going to need the veteran’s ability to get buckets when the offense stalls or Damian Lillard needs a breather.
The same can be said of Anfernee Simons. The third-year guard played beyond his years, going 4-5 from deep and each bomb couldn’t come at a better time. Whenever the Nuggets seemed on the verge of making a run, Simons wound up wide open and drilled it to silence the simmering crowd. That kind of cool, complementary play is exactly what the Blazers need from their players not named Lillard or McCollum.
We can pretty much pencil in Jokic and Lillard for 30+ points in each game in this series. We can count on MPJ and CJ to bring at least 20+ points with them into the arena. If Melo and Ant can combine for 30+ each night like they did in game one, the Nuggets are in trouble.