Portland Trail Blazers: 4 keys to victory over the Nuggets in the NBA playoffs
By Ty Delbridge
Portland Trail Blazers Key No. 3: Good 3-point shooting
The Blazers finished this season ranked second in the NBA in 3-point attempts (40.8) and 3-point makes (15.7) per game and were ranked sixth in 3-point percentage per game at 38.5 percent.
The Blazers have three players (McCollum, Anthony and Simons) shooting over 40 percent from the 3-point line per game. Altogether, they have six players taking over four attempts per game and shooting over 36 percent from the 3-point line.
The Nuggets ranked 22nd in the NBA in opponent 3-point attempts, and Portland will try to exploit that.
Nurkic is also a 40 percent 3-point shooter, but he has only taken 30 shots this season. Still, the big man has some touch from the outside and could look to make the Denver defense at least have to somewhat respect him from out there.
Portland lives and dies by the 3-point shot, and if they are hitting them, Denver will probably have a tough time keeping up with the volume, especially with no Murray. Denver does most of their damage at the basket and from the mid-range, and that opens up their 3-point looks.
The Blazers are actively hunting for 3-point attempts and won’t stop shooting them even if they are cold. As long as Portland doesn’t go ice cold, they should have no issue scoring up 110-115 a game.