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The third-seeded Denver Nuggets will take on the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Nuggets finished as the third seed in the West, while the Trail Blazers managed to avoid the play-in tournament courtesy of their tie-breaker against the LA Lakers.
The series will be tough for the Denver Nuggets, as the Portland Trail Blazers have already defeated them in the past without home-court advantage.
Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers: 3 individual battles to look out for in the first-round series of the 2021 NBA Playoffs
The two teams faced each other in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs, and the Portland Trail Blazers took the series in seven games.
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While the Denver Nuggets are now the favorites, Damian Lillard and company will be tough rivals.
In this article, we will take a look at three key matchups that could be decisive in the first-round battle between Mike Malone's Denver Nuggets (47-25 in the regular season) and Terry Stotts' Portland Trail Blazers (42-30).
#3 Michael Porter Jr. vs C.J. McCollum
Michael Porter Jr. and C.J. McCollum will be the second options on offense for the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Porter Jr. is in his second NBA season and has already been announced as a finalist for the Most Improved Award. This is due to his production for the Denver Nuggets throughout the year, especially after Jamal Murray's unfortunate ACL injury on April 12th.
Porter averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this year while also putting up tremendous 54.2/44.5/79.1 shooting splits in the regular season. Since Murray got injured, Porter put up 23.5 points per game with 56/48.9/85.4 shooting splits (17 games).
Meanwhile, C.J. McCollum had to battle a foot injury earlier this year. However, he still managed to put up career highs in points (23.1) and assists per game (4.7) while shooting 45.8% from the field, 40.2% from three, and 81.2% from the free-throw mark. McCollum played 47 games this season, and the Portland Trail Blazers went 28-19 with him on the court.
#2 Facundo Campazzo vs Damian Lillard
This individual battle might seem odd, given the status of both players in the NBA. Facundo Campazzo is a 30-year-old rookie, and Damian Lillard is a 30-year-old NBA superstar who's been selected to the All-NBA teams five times.
Campazzo's basketball IQ, defensive intensity and passing ability could create problems for the Portland Trail Blazers' backcourt on both ends of the floor.
The Argentinian did not register flashy numbers in his first NBA season. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 assists per game overall (in only 21 minutes per game).
However, Jamal Murray's injury put Campazzo in the starting lineup for 15 games to close out the regular season. The Denver Nuggets guard put up 9.3 points and 5.9 assists per game while averaging only 1.7 turnovers in each of those games.
Meanwhile, Damian Lillard will be a handful for Campazzo and any other Denver Nuggets defender that coach Malone throws at him.
In the 2019 series of the West semis, Lillard struggled against the Denver Nuggets, converting only 40.7% of his shots and 28.8% of his three-point shots.
This year, the Denver Nuggets look like a more solid team, even without Murray. Lillard has to be efficient for the Portland Trail Blazers' offense, given the poor level shown by their defense in the regular season.
Lillard was great throughout the regular season, even with McCollum and center Jusuf Nurkic missing 25 and 35 games, respectively. He guided Portland to a 39-28 record with him on the floor and averaged 28.8 points and 7.5 assists per game, with 45.1/39.1/92.8 shooting splits.
#1 Nikola Jokic vs Jusuf Nurkic
The Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic is one of three finalists for the NBA MVP award this year. His abilities will be essential in this series against a tough Portland Trail Blazers team.
The Portland Trail Blazers' defense was the second-worst in the NBA throughout the regular season, and Jokic has to make sure that the Denver Nuggets put pressure into that area.
While Damian Lillard can destroy a defense with his scoring and unbelievable range from three, he is not the playmaker that Jokic is.
Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game this year, all while making 56.6% of his field goals, 38.8% of his threes and 86.8% of his free throws.
Jokic is a tremendous offensive threat, but perhaps it would be good for the Portland Trail Blazers to let him go off and score instead of involving his teammates in offensive sets.
On his end, the Portland Trail Blazers' Jusuf Nurkic will have a tall task against his old teammate Jokic. He'll also need to establish his presence offensively and try to put the Denver Nuggets' Joker in foul trouble early.
Nurkic's 2020-21 season was hindered by a broken wrist, and he managed to play only 37 games for the Portland Trail Blazers in the regular round. He still put up 11 points, nine rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this year and also had the best Defensive Rating in the team, though he did not play enough minutes to qualify.
