Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic’s semifinals could be historic

The Denver Nuggets’ once-in-a-generation talent Nikola Jokic is hitting his first career playoffs in stride. This second round matchup certainly has him licking his chops.

As an excited Denver Nuggets team lit up the second round’s opening game Monday night, one fact became abundantly clear: The Portland Trail Blazers have no one capable of slowing Nikola Jokic down.

The big man’s fingerprints were all over Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinals matchup, as he proved himself unafraid once again during this stretch of career firsts.

In Monday’s matchup, Jokic feasted with 37 points, nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 11-of-18 from the field. He knocked down 3-of-5 looks from 3-point range, while totaling three blocks, two steals and a partridge in a pear tree.

His scoring was enough to torch the likes of Enes Kanter, Meyers Leonard and Zach Collins. But his passing was also swell enough to keep Al-Farouq Aminu and others from doubling down.

From Portland’s perspective, it really was the perfect storm. What to do, what to do.

Trail Blazers’ head coach Terry Stotts admitted that a defensive change was needed for Jokic, per Mike Tokito of Forbes:

"“That’s part of the series,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “We’ll be watching the video and try to figure something else.”"

Nobody doubts the Portland coaching staff will be doing just that between now and Wednesday’s Game 2. Who knows? It may even help a little.

But how much could this change things, really? That’s the benefit of the Nuggets’ seven-game dogfight against mastermind Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. The Mile High squad is now prepared for anything.

In the first round, Jokic took every physical beating and junk defense thrown at him and still averaged 23.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field. When faced with single-coverage, he ate up the defense on the block. Once hit with the double-team, he threw passes like Steve Nash. Just imagine if teammates had consistently hit their shots?

Now against Portland, the game becomes much different. The Trail Blazers do many things well, their main strength lying in a stellar offensive backcourt. What they aren’t, however, is a tough, gritty defensive team on the interior — especially without starting center Jusuf Nurkic.

If Jokic can take San Antonio’s best shot and emerge with his video-game stat line, just imagine what he could do to the Trail Blazers. Portland should be very afraid, honestly.

Ultimately, this semifinals equates to a superstar vs. superstar matchup. Jokic and Damian Lillard are among the league’s hottest players at this time. From Denver’s perspective, the NBA is finally starting to recognize Jokic.

Meanwhile, Lillard made headline news for his series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After Thunder star Russell Westbrook struck a nerve, Lillard went on to average a whopping 34.0 points per game in the series, shooting 45.5 percent from downtown. He chalked a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond 30 feet, including a savage, series-ending 37-footer in which he waved goodbye to the Thunder in Game 5.

Dame is a hell of a player. So is Nikola Jokic. Although Lillard scored 39 points in Game 1, he was held to just 4-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Even on a superstar-caliber performance like Monday, defensive specialists Torrey Craig and Gary Harris will make life at least somewhat uncomfortable for Portland’s stud.

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers are seemingly without any answers for Jokic. They may double-team and take chances with his passing game. Or they could determine single-man coverage to be the least poisonous way to guard him. Either way, they are probably screwed in that regard.

So what does this leave? Nothing less than a wide-eyed, hungry Jokic approaching the Portland Trail Blazers’ buffet table, empty plate in hand, ready to chomp on whatever he can snag. Let the feast begin!