Nuggets are cooked vs. Suns if Michael Porter Jr. isn't able to help out Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets are in big trouble against the Phoenix Suns, and they badly need Michael Porter Jr. to step up and help Nikola Jokic.

When Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL earlier this season, many figured the Denver Nuggets' championship dreams were shot. However, the rise of Michael Porter Jr into a legitimate No. 2 option next to Nikola Jokic gave some hope the Nuggets could still go on a deep run.

Porter finished the regular season on a tear and then played well in the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers, setting up the second-round series against the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, Porter tweaked his back in the Game 1 loss to the Suns and was then totally ineffective in a 123-98 Game 2 shellacking. The 22-year-old had just 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting and 2-of-9 from 3, and he was hunted on the defensive end of the court.

While Porter's defense can be problematic whether he's healthy or not, a decline in his offensive production is a death knell for this Nuggets squad against a balanced Suns team firing on all cylinders. Murray's absence and other injury issues mean Porter must be scoring at a high level along with Jokic for Denver to have a chance. That just hasn't happened yet in this series, and it's unclear how effective he'll be moving forward because of this back injury.

Game 2 was basically a one-man show for Denver, with Jokic going for 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in his 30 minutes of action. Will Barton delivered a brief spark in his return to the court, but there was little juice elsewhere. It's no surprise the Suns bashed the Nuggets from the very get-go, and head coach Michael Malone even claimed his team quit on the game. Jokic disagreed with that notion, but it was a painful performance for Denver.

Quit or not, the Nuggets need a lot more from Michael Porter Jr. They need the guy who averaged 21.9 points on 56.6% shooting overall and 46.8% from 3-point range from March 1 to the end of the regular season to show up. If he doesn't, this is going to be a quick series, and Denver will just have to lament what could have been after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year in the bubble.