The Portland Trail Blazers are set to face a tough second round opponent in the Denver Nuggets. After a lackluster first round showing, Portland will need Enes Kanter.

Luckily, Kanter is returning just in time for Monday night's Game 1. According to T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports on Twitter:

Kanter, who turns 27 in May, has been suffering a shoulder injury as of late. But the center's return is very good news for the Trail Blazers.

In the regular season, Kanter averaged 13.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists as a semi-regular. He was released by the New York Knicks in early February and signed with Portland a week later.

The Blazers made quick work of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, beating them in just five games. But they'll have to bring their best against the second-seed Nuggets, a much tougher opponent.

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Denver struggled in the opening round of the playoffs. The Western Conference's second seed didn't play well at all against the seventh-seed Spurs. San Antonio pushed the series to a decisive seventh game, which Denver won by just four points, 90-86.

However, there's a chance the long first round could help the Nuggets. They are still likely in a rhythm after their Game 7 win on Saturday. But the Blazers' last game was almost a week ago, on Tuesday, April 23.

Game 1 between the Nuggets and the Blazers will begin at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Monday night in Denver.

The Blazers know Enes Kanter will need to not only show up in flesh, but as a genuinely effective force.