4 things the Portland Trail Blazers need to do better to win the series

2. Make life easier for Damian Lillard

This has a very similar theme to Aminu and Harkless needing to be better. The entire supporting cast needs to step up and do its part to make things easier for Damian Lillard. We have seen McCollum and Kanter do their part, but this is going to take a group effort.

Lillard is still putting up fantastic raw numbers, but the Nuggets are making him work for everything he is getting, and we haven’t seen him go on any exciting scoring runs (besides Game 1). Denver is picking him up as soon as he crosses half-court, being physical, sending doubles and limiting the amount of space Lillard has to work with.

If more guys are scoring and making a difference, then Denver will have to take some of the pressure off Lillard, so they don’t continue to get beat elsewhere. Dame likes to get to the basket and pass out to open guys when the defense sends help.

If they can’t send help, that means more one-on-one opportunities for Lillard at the rim where he will most likely score or get fouled, as opposed to the inefficient scoring he’s dealt with the last few games. Kanter and Collins need to be threats in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, and the wings need to shoot and cut well.

Rodney Hood has had a successful series and should be used more going forward after only scoring seven points on four shots in Game 4. Seth Curry exploded for the first time all playoffs last game and that is hopefully a good sign going forward.

It might be a good idea to let Lillard work off the ball and have McCollum, Curry, Hood or Evan Turner bring it up. That way he can get some space running off screens either going downhill to the basket or seeing a less contested shot attempt. Portland needs the clock to strike “Dame Time” late in these next few games.