Homecourt Advantage
The NBA in 2021 hardly knew the concept. But Portland needs its old friend.
The first week of the NBA Playoffs was marked by the emergence for new stars and the return of an old friend: homecourt advantage. The Trail Blazers were joined by the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks in stealing homecourt over the weekend, followed by the Lakers on Tuesday night. And now a large part of Game 3 in Portland-Denver will be the crowd.
Although the Nuggets put the Blazers on their heels in Game 2, my initial thought process isn’t about adjustments to get Damian Lillard open from Aaron Gordon or Portland’s weird turnover blip in Game 2. All I can think about is Jusuf Nurkic. With him finally having a chance to play a home playoff game for the first time since 2018, how could I not?
Perhaps since the sweep against New Orleans, Nurkic has been waiting to have this moment again. On the precipice of a playoff moment in front of the fans in 2019, he got hurt. On the precipice of his return to the Moda Center last March, the pandemic hit. All of the biggest moments of the past few seasons in the building, he has had to watch.
A great deal of the airspace regarding this series has been dedicated to beef. Denver fans booing Carmelo, I don’t even really want to hear any “Mike Malone” jokes. I just can’t wait to see how the crowd welcomes Nurk because he has worked so hard to make this happen.
And now that more fans can be in the building, it’s also an opportunity to show love to the rest of the team that has ground out an exhausting and isolating season in an empty gym.
Adjustments
Terry Stotts and his staff are much smarter than I am when it comes to basketball. But if I had one thought about an adjustment for Game 3, I would like to see if it’s possible to get more minutes with Robert Covington at the 5 against Denver’s second unit frontcourt of JaMychal Green and Paul Millsap.
Perhaps that means Melo, or perhaps someone like Nassir Little or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, coming in for Covington earlier than usual. I also could be making too much of Millsap going off in Game 2.
Still, the way Enes Kanter looked guarding the two quicker big men didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Kanter also has failed to make them pay for the lack of size, scoring only six points and grabbing nine rebounds over the course of the first two games. He has yet to do what he does best in the first two games. If Stotts does go to Kanter, he needs to be ready to pivot if what has happened in the first two games continues.