LAC 105
ORL 111
LAL 122
DEN 119
NY 103
UTAH 110
CHI 108
SA 97
MEM 100
SAC 113
POR 92
UTAH 100
OKC 120
HOU 104
CLE 111
DET 97
BOS 132
NY 133
NO 89
MEM 111
MIA 90
ORL 97
HOU 113
GS 105
OKC 111
PHO 103
LAL 112
PHI 100
NY 99
CLE 114
NBA SIMS LEAGUE
Jan 31 5:53 am

NSL Insider - R2 Preview: Portland V Denver

by Nenjabin, updated on Friday, May 19 2023, 04:10 am EST

Round 1 is run and done now and Round 2 is here, as we narrow the field to 4 teams per conference trying to reach the ultimate goal!

This one in the West is the big one. The NSL legendary team, already, in the Portland Trailblazers matching up with the 5th seeded Denver Nuggets, the next contender to try and take down the goliath. The Blazers are trying to defend their title and were the team to beat again this year, while the Nuggets are finally enjoying a year of health so they can genuinely contend.

 

The Blazers
Record: 70-12

The Blazers are the benchmark of the league year in and year out led by the ultimate in competitive and savvy, GM JMac. The man wants to win, always, and knows how to go about it, constantly refreshing a roster with winning moves and accumulating assets while also upgrading in the same moves to find pieces that complement each other seamlessly around at least two of the most elite players in the league as a staple. It�s a masterclass watching Joel and they are the favourites now and were before the season even began.

 

 

The Blazers did as the Blazers do all year again this year. 70 wins is almost an expectation in Portland, which is evidenced by the reaction to any kind of suggestion of losing a quarter let alone a game! They managed to find a sucker to not only take Westbrook to free them up to make moves to retool, but to actually give them viable assets and expect nothing back in the process and this entire year of success is on the back of that move. They were already set to be the team to beat, but they were able to reboot to be even better now, and re-open their window another few year past the now too in one move. They acquired their man finally, Lebron James, even though it took a while for him to come due to different salary and contractual complications pairing two of the three most impactful and elite players in the league and game on the one court. Bringing back the winningest big man in the league in Andre Drummond was key to anchoring it all, even when the stars were out, and role players with size and 2 way skills were the target otherwise to compile the roster that won the regular season. The team that won 70 games has only 3 players inside the ESPN top 100. Just think on that a moment when considering the elite management of this roster to get wins even without the big names. This is JMac�s world, and we�re just living in it.

The Blazers Round 1 went exactly as anyone would have tipped really confronting the 8th seeded, play-in winning, feel good story of the league in the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were no match as the Blazers rolled over them with an average margin of +21, also with an insane +18 rebounds, +10 Offensive. Lebron and KD each averaged 24 a night and KD added 3 blocks also from the wild SG position. Just cause they could, Andre Drummond came off the bench despite averaging 18 rebounds a game through the regular season and being the #17 player in the league, so they actually left a lot in the tank on their way through also.

 

The Nuggets
Record: 50-32

The Nuggets come into this series knowing they are pushing �it� up hill before it even begins. 50 wins for them this year, and they got over the 4th seeded Wolves relatively easily in the end which was probably unexpected even by this very writer, but it pails to the 70 win juggernaut they are coming up against here. That said, they�re an offensive minded team that in theory can put it up on the board as well as anyone if it all comes together correctly. Steph is elite, Klay is healthy, Porter is a scorer, Sabonis is a multi faceted star and they have nothing to lose.

 

 

Denver were the picture of consistency this year not actually making a single move to the roster after they made their offseason move to bring in Sabonis. No trades. No signings save for converting their 2way guy, Anthony Lamb, who slotted into the open roster spot they held for him all year, and no released guys, either. They dealt with injuries in house and adjusted as needed within the season opening roster and save for Serge Ibaka taking indefinite leave along the way, they stayed healthy for the playoffs which is all you can really ask. They�ve got a really nice blend of experience and youth and it all circles around that 3 point shot of which they took nearly 700 more attempts through the year than their opponents. You know what they are going to bring and try to win this series and it�s going to be all around those shots dropping.

In Round 1, we saw the Nuggets come flying out of the gates against the Wolves, taking the first 3 games of the series, which prompted the response from most of �How many games until they advance?�. Advance they did, but it took 6 games in the end after the Wolves clawed back a couple of games due to their coaching adjustments. Steph led all scorers in the series with 22.5 points while Klay averaged 19 and Sabonis and Willy combined for 28 rebounds per game. The series was tight, the scoring despite 4-2, being exactly a net 0. They had a +4 on the boards, which will need to be a strength and their low defensive numbers, particularly blocked shots, was characteristic. They played as you would imagine and go the job done, and now need to focus on the massive task ahead.

 

The Match-Ups:

C Projected: Jakob Poeltl  Vs  Domantas Sabonis

 

 

For this version of 2k, the big man battle is where the game is won and lost on so many occasions, and both of these teams have a strong big man stable to choose from. The rebound battle is all important, always, in 2k, but even more this year so this will be key.

Poeltl is in his 4th incarnation in Portland as pointed out by his GM when he once again brought him in, but this time he has stuck and started all year. The man is slow, which has been more of an issue in past engines, but he�s a beast on the boards and in defending the paint and the perfect compliment to the stars in Portland. In Round 1 he averaged 19 rebounds with his 13 points and this is a god send. He�ll look to replicate.

I think Sabonis gets the 1st run through the C spot in Denver. Typically, he�s been used as a PF this year but I think if you�re going to pick your big man poison, matching him against Poeltl is the preferable option to Drummond, hence, starting at C. He�s not your defensive guy, but he�s a strong rebounder and he should offer more on the offensive side of the ball too. 15 rebounds per game in Round 1, might need to up there here though.

-          I give the advantage to the Nuggets marginally here. Impact wise, they are both going to be very very similar but I think Sabonis has the chance to be an offensive impact guy also, while Poeltl is all defensive. That said, Sabonis I expect to swing in and out while Poeltl will lock in for all games.

 

PF Projected: Andre Drummond  Vs  Willy Hernangomez

 

 

The PF spot has been the forgotten position in 2k this year as everyone opts to just chuck size there as the engine demands it, rather than see small ball and skilled and quick guys making this spot their own like in the past. For this reason we see guys here that either impact the boards heavily, and or guys that are simple role players. Here, we get the full 2k experience in this match up.

Drummond started nearly all games all year, only to be bumped to the bench for Round 1. There�s much speculation as to why, but it might just have been a way to test TT as a starter in a series Joel expected to white wash regardless. I think Drummond comes back to starting though as he�s just too much of a menace and against a shooting team like the Nuggets, you want to control the glass.

You know exactly what you�re getting from Drummond and Willy is a lite version of the same thing which is why I think we see Willy line up here and not Sabonis. He averaged 13 rebounds in the Round 1 series and is a staple for the Nuggets as a starter in some form, and that won�t change. He won�t block as many shots as Drummond likely will though, but he could try and help the glass battle.

-          Advantage Portland for sure. Drummond has been in the conversation as an MVP which sounds nuts, but he anchored the team to winning weeks even when KD, LBJ and Harden were all out. It�s not nuts to say he will have the most impact on the series.

 

SF Projected: Lebron James  Vs  Michael Porter Jnr.

 

 

A lot of the time SF this year has been a position filled by a sturdy defender allowing the guards to run rampant and the bigs to clean up the guards duties. But both of these teams have not treated it that way, instead being able to play guys that are key to the offence and really go for an advantage.

Lebron is Lebron. We all know what we�re getting from Lebron by now and he�s still the man to have in your team boosting the O and boosting the D while smashing guys out of the park on a nightly basis. I don�t think he shifts from SF all series here and nor should he. He has the advantage big time after averaging 24 a night in Round 1, and he should probably improve on that for Round 2.

Do the Nuggets have a Lebron stopper? The short answer is, no. So, I think they just roll out Porter still. He doesn�t handle too much which probably means the ball is protected from the elite defensive side of Lebron, and he catch and shoots with size and high release so might still get a chunk of his on O. He averaged 15/6/5 in Round 1, which was great but he has his work cut out.

-         It�s Lebron. Is there a question? Portland stranglehold here.

SG Projected: Kevin Durant  Vs  Klay Thompson

 

 

The SG position is where the firepower starts to kick in 2k, and it�s where we see the bigger wings get moved down a spot to utilise their size and impact the game even more. We see a mixed spread from these teams in this regard to the position and it�ll be an interesting one to follow.

When you have a versatile PF like Durant that is able to play down to the SG spot, you�ve really got an advantage. KD averaged 24 a night in round 1 and with his size and handles, he�s going to cause issues. This is the bonus you get from having an absolute elite talent.

As far as genuine SG options go, Klay would be one of the better match ups to combat a playing down KD. He�s a 6�7 shooting guard with defensive chops and he�s back and healthy. He can shoot the lights out, which might be more tricky with a tall defender like KD, but he�ll hassle KD on the other end too. He averaged 19 in Round 1, so he�ll be instrumental.

-          Can�t help give the advantage to the Blazers here, of course. That size and skill down at the 2 is hard to top.

 

PG Projected: Josh Richardson  Vs  Steph Curry

 

 

The PG position is still god in 2k, well, mostly, and being able to put a big 2 guard down there with handles as PG skills is a god send after the position down thing got far too crazy and the limitations saw the end of a lot of the even bigger guys moving down here. This one shows the traditional PG V the hybrid and it�s going to be all about seeing if the point god can break free.

JRich was arguably an afterthought when he came to Portland, at least to everyone else. Joel likely saw a 6�6 2 guard that could line up nicely at PG as he�s played a bit of that in his career and he�s slotted in as a starter for a lot of games this year. In short, he�s been great. He has size, handles, can shoot and fills the unselfish role perfectly. In Round 1, he averaged 14/2/5 which is his job in spades.

Steph has been great this year as usual. Not as great has he was a couple of years ago, but he�s still Steph. If you ask Dig, he�s been a lot more great to start the year before things switched up in 2k and you can see the evidence of this. He still poured in 22 a night in Round 1 to get his team through and he can still light it up on a dime, so he�s going to be a catalyst for the Nuggets chances.

-          Steph is the advantage here. The match up is going to be a nice one to watch though. JRich is the type you want to have on a Steph cause of his size and perimeter D, and he might punish Steph the other way a little too. But, it�s Steph.

 

Bench Projections:

Tristan Thompson, Caris LeVert, Joe Ingles, Luke Kornet
Vs
Gary Trent Jnr, Ricky Rubio, Usman Garuba, Jalen Johnson, NahShon Hyland

These benches are similar in make up, but the Nuggets like to run 10 deep while the Blazers have been 9 all year. TT coming in meant Reddish was dropped from the rotation and he�s a rebounding machine so you see why. The bench bigs to the Blazers, but the 6th man probably goes to Trent over Caris. It�ll be interesting to see if any bench can give a true boost to the game.

 

Keys to Victory:

 

Blazers
- Man the Perimeter. Protect the paint has been the way this year because get to the rim has been the way, but you know the Nuggets won�t be rolling that. They�re shooting everywhere. Hit that perimeter.
- Assert interior dominance. The Blazers have an interior superiority over pretty much everyone and they need to maintain that. The rebounds will be there to be had with a jump shooting team, so go get them.
- All out interior attack. If there�s one thing the Nuggets don�t do, it�s defend particularly well, and even more particularly inside. If you can attack that rim and get some fouls on Sabonis/Willy, they�re left reeling with Garuba and Johnson to play big off the bench.

Nuggets
- Fight for those boards.
Similar to above, the rebounds will be there with a jump shooting team and this is an area that Portland can kill you, so you need to box out and work for every rebound.
- Take Smart Shots. Don�t just chuck any old triple. You�re going to shoot triples, make sure they�re good ones as the length of the Blazers will bother shots too much otherwise.
- Protect the paint. This is not their forte. They don�t have shot blockers. But they need to force Portland to shoot it because inside they�re too strong with their size and their perimeter shooting is shaky comparatively.

 

 

 

Head to Head Prediction:

Unlike the other West battle, this one just seems like the match up from hell for the Nuggets. In all the areas the Nuggets are weaker, the Blazers excel and they�re pretty good at countering the Nuggets best aspects, too. I mean, it�s not really a stretch calling a sweep from a 70 win team, but in round 2 it feels harsh none the less.

Blazers to move on, 4-0.

Archive

· R2 Preview: Washington V New York

· R1 Review: Milwaukee V Philadelphia

· R1 Review: Minnesota V Denver

· R1 Review: New York V Boston

· R2 Preview: Portland V Denver

· R2 Preview: San Antonio V Memphis

· R1 Review: Memphis V OKC

· R1 Review: San Antonio V Houston

· R1 Review: Washington V Charlotte

· R1 Review: Portland V Phoenix

 

 

 

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