Portland Trail Blazers: 3 players to watch for in Game 2 v Denver Nuggets

In the biggest game of the year and the first game of the series against the Denver Nuggets, it was an offensive masterclass across the board as the Portland Trail Blazers disposed of their opposition 123 – 109.

Now looking forward to game two, here are three players to watch out for as the Nuggets try and bounce back.

Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic actually had a great game scoring-wise in game one, with 34 points and 16 rebounds, but because he was guarded one on one by his center matchup, he actually only finished with one assist. This was one of his lowest assist totals in recent memory.

But the Nuggets actually only hit 30.6 percent on threes in game one. With strong three-point shooters in Jokic, Michael Porter Jr, Monte Morris, Austin Rivers and Fernando Campuzzo, this number will almost certainly be higher in game two. That will surely mean Jokic ends up with more assists. The single-coverage could also mean that Jokic has 40 points in game two, it’s a risky move, but one that meant the Blazers won an all-important away game.

Carmelo Anthony

The Blazers didn’t start game one well, but got into their work later in the first quarter courtesy of some great offense by Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simons. A 35-point first quarter was spiked by Anthony hitting threes from all over the court.

He finished with 18 points in 21 minutes on an excellent six of twelve shooting. With the floor spread around either CJ McCollum or Damian Lillard, Melo will have the opportunity to attack mismatches in the post or have more room on the perimeter. Although he plays more of a big man than a forward role now, he and Simons production off the bench keeps the Blazers offense humming.

Norman Powell

Norman Powell is a key player for the Blazers this series because of his rim attacking skills. Powell is the best rim finisher in the team not named Enes Kanter, so he will be disappointed with his two of seven return from two and three of eleven overall in the first game.

The Nuggets don’t have any real rim protection in their starting unit with Jokic not being that style of big, so Powell has the perfect platform to use his strength and speed to get easier looks at the cup. We know Damian Lillard shows up big time in the playoffs, but Powell brings something different to the other guards on the team.

Powell is a proven playoff commodity, so I don’t expect him to stay quiet as we saw in game one.

Game two is today at 7.00 PM Portland time.