Though the Portland Trail Blazers are the weaker team on paper, NBA fans know how upsets are very much possible in the NBA Playoffs. Nikola Jokic has been the main man for the Denver Nuggets for the past few years. However, Nuggets coach Mike Malone will be missing the services of Jamal Murray. The Trail Blazers should grab the opportunity to exploit this. But they should remain wary of the rest of the Nuggets.

With that in mind, here are three ways the Blazers can stop Jokic and the Nuggets to win their first round duel.

Communicate and Rotate Diligently on Defense

Double-teaming the opposing team's star player has been the usual remedy to contain him. But Nikola Jokic is such a special player that double-teaming him means giving up the easy two points. By now, it's already been established that The Joker is the best passing big man in the NBA, and Malone has done a good job at integrating every little detail of his playbook around Jokic. So much so that the Nuggets offense involves tons of off-ball movement meant to confuse the defense. Jokic is such a good playmaker that more often than not, he'll spot the opening—no matter how small—for the easy points.

The Trail Blazers' only way to stop this is through constant communication on defense. Robert Covington, a former NBA All-Defensive Team selection, needs to take command on defense. Apart from possibly guarding Jokic, Covington should shout out the proper defensive rotations on the fly. This is a very big responsibility. But he's the best and smartest defender on the Trail Blazers.

Take Out Two-Man Game

The Trail Blazers can breathe a little since Murray and Jokic won't pummel them with their two-man game. However, Nuggets backup guard Facundo Campazzo has been slowly developing his chemistry with Jokic. He's nowhere near Murray's offensive prowess but Campazzo is an excellent playmaker who's not afraid of punishing lazy defenses. This seems to be the Nuggets' bread and butter. Even without Murray, the likes of Austin Rivers, Michael Porter Jr. have that two-man game with Jokic under their sleeves.

The Nuggets obviously have other plays in their arsenal apart from the two-man game. But containing this aspect would save a good amount of points for each game. It would also force the Nuggets to stray away from Jokic-centric plays which could be a welcome adjustment if you're the Trail Blazers.

Tire Jokic Out on Defense

As gifted as Jokic is on offense, he's pretty much a liability on defense. He's strong but he's very slow—and he knows it. As such, he's very volatile in pick-and-roll situations with a speedy Damian Lillard with either Jusuf Nurkic or Enes Kanter. But then there's also Carmelo Anthony who's easily one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. Anthony can either pick-and-pop with Lillard or take Jokic one-on-one.

It's not a guarantee that after being pummeled on defense, Jokic will be worn out on offense. He is well aware that his defense is his weakness and opposing teams have constantly abused this fact. But the Trail Blazers need to exploit every weakness possible. Those who have defeated the Nuggets have employed a very similar strategy. If the Trail Blazers want to win, coach Terry Stotts has to come up with plays to make Nikola Jokic exert extra effort on defense.