Denver Nuggets: Portland Trail Blazers series preview

This year the Denver Nuggets secured the fourth seed in the West, drawing the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. This is a rematch of the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals matchup in which Portland won in seven games.

This season, the teams matched up three times with the Nuggets taking the first two by a total of six points. In the final game of the season, the Trail Blazers dominated a game they needed to win while the starters of Denver played a max of 17 minutes.

These two teams played each other on Apr. 21 in which the Nuggets squeezed out a one-point victory. In this game, they had just lost Jamal Murray a few days prior and had already signed Austin Rivers. This game was back and forth all night and is likely a good indication of how this series will play out.

Enjoy my scouting report on the potential matchups of this series, beginning with the guards and ending with the battle of old friends; Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic.