Denver Nuggets: 3 takeaways from pivotal Game 5 win vs. Blazers

3. Take advantage of Paul Millsap’s strength more

Millsap was a major piece of the Nuggets’ offense in Game 5, especially in the first half. They saw that the Blazers didn’t have a power forward in their rotation that could bang with him inside, and they attacked that weakness.

Denver dominated the points in the paint battle with a +22 margin inside. Some of that was Jokic’s excellence, but Millsap was staying very active inside too. He had 19 of his 24 points in the first half alone.

Millsap was the team’s second-leading scorer on the night with 24 points, and he shot 50 percent on shots inside the arc. His physicality also caused issues for the Blazers’ bigs, as evidenced by all of their frontcourt players except Enes Kanter totaling at least three fouls on the night. Millsap had six free throws on the night, and he needs to continue being aggressive in the remainder of this series.

After closing this one out, Denver showed that it has an advantage inside. The Nuggets need to push that with Millsap as the primary option with Jokic operating from the elbow or at the top of the key. Over half of the team’s points came from inside the paint, and that’s where you get the best shots possible.