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The loss of Jamal Murray has dampened the Denver Nuggets' hopes of winning a championship this year. Nevertheless, the Nuggets will still enter the 2021 NBA Playoffs with high expectations, especially with the kind of campaign franchise superstar Nikola Jokic had in the 2020-21 regular season.
Despite finishing with the No. 3 seed, it isn't going to be easy from the get-go as they get Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers to open their 2021 postseason run. Everybody knows just how much offensive firepower Portland has. Of course, everything starts with Dame Time himself. CJ McCollum is as good a bucket-getter as anyone in the NBA. If the Nuggets remember correctly, he's the guy who dropped 37 points in the deciding Game 7 to eliminate the Nuggets from the West Semis two years ago.
Without Murray, who suffered a torn left ACL in April, it's going to be an even more daunting task for the Nuggets to match Portland's heavy hitters. MVP finalist Nikola Jokic can't handle all the offensive load by himself. That's why sophomore forward Michael Porter Jr. will be Denver's ultimate X-factor against the Blazers in this first-round series.
Many believed the Nuggets would free-fall in the West standings when Murray went down on April 12. However, MPJ has stepped up big time in the Canadian point guard's absence, helping the Nuggets earn a 47-25 record and home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The 22-year-old has really taken that role as the No. 2 scoring option and run away with it. He has also taken strides in playing alongside Jokic, and the two have developed quite a nice chemistry together.
The Blazers will likely send double-teams and traps to Nikola Jokic, as they simply cannot afford to let The Joker go one-on-one against their centers. With Jokic's willingness to find his open teammates and elite playmaking, Porter should take advantage of this and make himself available by moving without the ball and making timely cuts to the basket.
Over the last 17 games, Porter is averaging 23.5 points on an efficient 56.0 percent field goal shooting and an insane 48.9 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Nuggets will definitely need Porter to continue producing at the rate he did in the final 17 games of the regular season if they want to strengthen their chances of taking down Lillard and the Blazers.
A lot of people who have seen MPJ know that he is a talented offensive player with tons of upside. While Denver's offense revolves around Jokic, Porter is very much capable of getting his own, though Portland does have some lengthy veteran perimeter defenders who could bother him.
These 2021 playoffs should be Michael Porter Jr.'s stage to prove that he is ready to take that next step in becoming a true star in the NBA. He showed flashes of brilliance in last year's bubble playoffs. But just flashes won't be enough this year, especially with Murray out. Porter will need to be a star every single night. If the last 17 games are any indication, MPJ is definitely capable of that.
