Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from discouraging Game 5 loss vs. Nuggets

2. The Blazers were dominated on the glass

Rebounding was always going to be a big factor heading into this series. Portland grabbed the third-most rebounds per game in 2018-19, while Denver pulled down the eighth-most. It would be a battle in the paint, but if either team could get a sizable advantage, it would control the game. That was the case in Game 5, as the Nuggets out-rebounded Portland 62-44.

The determining difference came on Portland’s end, where the Blazers grabbed only 13 rebounds off their 62 missed shots and the Nuggets finished a +21 on the defensive glass.

Some of these were due to the Blazers purposely conceding the offensive glass, choosing to have four players drop back to limit Denver’s transition opportunities while one toughed it out underneath. They should consider switching things up for the next game, perhaps sending an additional man down to help in the trenches.

It some cases, it also felt like the ball would bounce out of Portland’s hands and into Denver’s. A few of Jokic’s 19 boards were him just being in the right place at the right time. In those instances, all the Blazers can do is continue to fight for the best position and not let the bad caroms deter them.