Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers: 10 Note-Worthy Takeaways

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Oct 16, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Mason Plumlee (24) drives to the basket past Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the first quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

#5- This Could Be a Preview

The Blazers were looking like playoff contenders early in Sunday’s game.

They showed great ball movement, resulting in open shots. Early, Lillard and CJ were driving to the hoop, while Harkless and Aminu were hitting their open threes. The team looked confident. Great passing from all players led to trust in the three and multiple splashes from behind the arc.

Portland stopped looking so scary in the second. Denver settled in and made some defensive adjustments, and started to stop the Blazers offensive plans. Hopefully this inconsistently doesn’t continue, but it could, and this could be just the beginning.

The Blazers came out strong again to start the second half. Their ball movement once again looks elite, and they saw many open looks. CJ McCollum was too good, hitting a step-back 3 to take the lead midway through the third

Overall, the Blazers looked ok. With Crabbe, Turner, Harkless, and Aminu all look like solid scoring contributors to place around CJ and Lillard, they look like a team that will find themselves in the p,layoffs as expected. But the Nuggets did come into Portland and proved that we are here to play.

This will a preview for several games throughout this long 82-game season.

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