Jamal Murray offers a reminder of what the Nuggets missed in Game 1

The Nuggets’ playoff hero from postseason’s past was back at Ball Arena Saturday.

Jamal Murray, dressed in full workout gear and only a month removed from ACL surgery, strolled across the friendly confines of his home hardwood prior to Game 1 vs. the Trail Blazers. He chit-chatted with coaches, trainers, and then offered some words of advice to rookie point guard Markus Howard ahead of what would be his first playoff minutes.

Then, Murray started to shoot.

Without jumping, Murray shot free-throw after free-throw, and then stand-still three-pointer after stand-still three-pointer. At one point, Murray sunk six threes in a row. It was a cruel reminder of what the Nuggets are missing in these playoffs.

The Nuggets shot 11-36 (30.6%) from three-point range in their 123-109 Game 1 loss. The Blazers shot 19-40 (47.5%) from beyond the arc. The story of Saturday night is right there. Portland didn’t double Nikola Jokic, and for most of four quarters, Jokic made the Blazers pay. He finished with 34 points to go with 16 rebounds.

But Jokic only tallied one assist, his fewest helpers in a game since he dropped zero dimes in a January 2020 win in Indiana where Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and broke out for the first time.

Porter went 1-10 from three in Game 1, spoiling several Jokic assists and compiling what would be his second-worst shooting night of the season behind a 1-12 showing vs. the Celtics in early April. Michael Malone thought some of Porter’s looks were quality attempts but believed a few were rushed and forced.

“They just weren’t dropping tonight,” Porter said.

Austin Rivers, who CJ McCollum was just begging to shoot from three-point range throughout Game 1, went 1-5 from distance.

“The question is going to be, can we knock down open shots? That’s probably one of the bigger concerns I have going into this series,” Malone said pregame. “Will we be able to score enough to stay in the game? We know that Nikola’s going to attract a crowd. Michael Porter’s going to attract a crowd.”

“Will the other guys on our roster be able to step up and make enough shots? After watching our guys all season, after watching them this week, I think our guys are more than ready for that challenge.”

Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Facu Campazzo combined to shoot a healthy 7-14 from three, but the Blazers’ defensive game plan in the series is clear: make the Nuggets beat them from the three-point arc and limit the impact Jokic can make as a passer by sinking their defense to try and eliminate Denver’s cutters.

The Blazers can deploy that scheme because the Nuggets’ shorthanded rotation doesn’t boast enough shooters. It’s why Howard logged 20 minutes off the bench in Game 1. I’ve got to say, after covering Michael Malone for six seasons, the two-way rookie logging significant playing time is one of the more surprising lineup decisions I can remember him making. Usually, Malone will look for defense in those spots at the end of his rotation, and I thought Shaq Harrison would get those minutes in Game 1.

Howard playing that much speaks to just how desperate Denver is for something on offense. But the 6-foot-3 Anfernee Simmons essentially shooting over the 5-foot-10 Howard Saturday didn’t exactly bode well for the Nuggets’ defense.

Howard finished with seven points on 3-5 shooting and did hit one triple on three attempts.

A couple of Jamal Murray Blue Arrows would have been nice too.

The Blazers’ game plan was a comfortable one for them to follow considering they were on fire from beyond the arc. Portland couldn’t miss Saturday, and if the Blazers shoot at least 40% from distance in every game this series, the Nuggets are cooked. Denver simply doesn’t have the firepower to run with a team that hot. The Nuggets were only able to tally 109 points in Game 1 against the NBA’s second-worst defense this season. That ain’t good enough.

Just how present Murray was throughout Game 1 dug the dagger from the loss in deeper. Prior to tip-off, Murray addressed the roughly 8,000 fans at Ball Arena.

“I really wish I was hopping right now,” he said. “But it’s good to be back in front of y’all.”

“What we’ve built here in Denver, it’s just the beginning. We’re just getting started. Championship on 3. 1-2-3. Championship!”

Chills, but also a reminder of what could have been this season.

On their sideline, the Nuggets pretty much had two head coaches Saturday. Murray was present and active in every huddle and nearly every Nuggets basket brought him out of his seat.

Murray strutted all the way out to half-court after the second of those two Jokic post-ups. Zach Collins, who’s out with an ankle injury, didn’t take too kindly to that. Following in Evan Turner’s footsteps from the 2019 second-round meeting between Denver and Portland, Collins gave Murray and the Nuggets a middle finger salute after a Carmelo Anthony three on Portland’s next possession.

The Nuggets won’t panic after dropping Game 1. Denver has been down in a playoff series before. The Nuggets trailed the Spurs 1-0 in 2019 before coming back to win in seven games. Denver lost to the Clippers by 23 points in Game 1 of the second round last playoffs but rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

The Nuggets’ shooting in Game 1 was reminiscent of their Game 1 loss to the Spurs two years ago when Denver shot 6-28 (21.4%) from three-point range. The Nuggets rebounded to shoot above 40% from three in Games 2-5.

“It’s one game. We’re down 1-0, and you’ve got to get to four wins,” said Porter. “We’re good. It’s just one game. We’ll regroup tomorrow and try to get the next game.”

Portland will eventually cool off….maybe. Anfernee Simmons went 4-5 from three. Anthony was 4-8. Covington was even 2-4 from deep. Then again, this is an elite offense that Denver’s facing and the sixth-best three-point shooting team in the league this season.

What Denver saw Saturday is kind of who the Blazers are. Portland gets the ball poppin’ and attempted and made the second-most threes per game in the NBA this year. The way to exploit Blazers is by taking advantage of their creaky defense, and Denver didn’t have the horses Saturday even though Jokic turned in a great performance. Porter couldn’t hit from three but finished with 25 points and went 11-11 from two-point range. He became just the fourth player (Larry Neil, Serge Ibaka, Nene Hilario) in NBA playoff history to not miss a two-point field goal when taking at least 11 two-point shots.

Portland takes and makes threes like it did Saturday all the time.

“That’s what they do,” Jokic said. “That’s what they’re looking to do in their offense. We just need to be there a little bit quicker. Just to make them, one more drive, one more pass. Make them work for it.”

The Nuggets can also be much better defensively. There were too many breakdowns and too many half-second late rotations that the Blazers capitalized on. Portland hunted Porter in the pick-and-roll too and was able to get him switched onto Lillard way too easily in the third quarter. Lillard exploded for 15 points in the third and found the rhythm that carried him through to the end of regulation. How the Blazers targeted Porter was reminiscent of how the Jazz exploited him early on in the Nuggets’ 2020 first-round series.

Murray saved the Nuggets in that series with a pair of 50-point games. He can’t be the hero to bring Denver back this time around. This series is far from over, but the Nuggets need to find their shooting before it’s too late.