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The Denver Nuggets endured a blowout loss against the Portland Trail Blazers to make the series 2-2. This has been a volatile best-of-seven battle, with neither team playing well at the same time… or very consistently.
It was a tough game for the Nuggets, who played horrendously.
There were many reasons the Nuggets lost this game to the Blazers and they will need to make adjustments.
The series is now tied and they will head back to Denver for game 5. It will be vital for the Nuggets to win game 5 as it would be difficult to win in Portland down 3-2. The Nuggets need to make adjustments if they are going to beat the Blazers in game 5.
Nuggets keys:
5. Play with physicality and toughness
One of the strengths for the Nuggets in this series is the advantage at center. They have the frontrunner for MVP in Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets need to take advantage in the paint. Head coach of the Nuggets Mike Malone felt like the players were playing soft. That can't happen in a playoff game especially when going up against a good team in the Blazers.
If the Nuggets are going to win the series they will need to play with more physicality and toughness.
Michael Malone said he felt like some of his guys were “tentative,” and “scared.” He went so far as to say some his guys played “soft.”
“I can’t believe we’re even talking about playing hard in a playoff game.”
— Mike Singer (@msinger) May 29, 2021
4. Limit Jusuf Nurkic
The Nuggets can lot allow Nurkic to outperform Jokic in a game. That is exactly what happened in game 4 which was a key issue for the Nuggets. Although the 17 points from Nurkic aren't astonishing he still outplayed Jokic. Jokic only had 16 points and Nurkic did a great job defending him. The Nuggets will need to stop Nurkic from outplaying Jokic if they are going to win.
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3. Give Nikola Jokic new ways to thrive
When you have a superstar player you can not have them struggle. Jokic struggled in game 4 and the Nuggets will not win games with this effort. Even when he is having a tough scoring night he usually creates open looks for his teammates. In game 4 he did neither as he had 16 points and only 1 assist. There is no way the Nuggets will win if Jokic plays like this again.
They will need to get him going in game 5 to give them a chance in the series.
2. Limit Norman Powell
When you think of the Blazers guards you think of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. While both of those guards are great players, Norman Powell was the one that hurt the Nuggets in game 4. Powell had 29 points and was dominant in this game. It's hard enough to limit Lillard and McCollum but now they will have to limit Powell as well. It will be a challenge for Denver but it's important to limit him. They don't need to limit his shot attempts but just make them more difficult shots.
Look for the Nuggets to limit Powell in order to help lead them back in the series.
Biggest Nuggets key:
1. Get Michael Porter Jr. going
The second most important player on the Nuggets is Michael Porter Jr. After Jamal Murray went down with an injury Porter Jr. stepped for the team. He has been a great scorer for them and helped them remain good with Murray out. However, in game 4 he really struggled as he only had 3 points. The number one and two option for Denver both struggled heavily and that can't happen.
Porter Jr. will need to improve if they are going to win.
The Nuggets are in a tough spot but if they make these adjustments they will be fine. Look for Jokic and Porter Jr. to assert themselves early in game 5.
