This is it
How could they lose THAT game?
These ones never feel good at the end. Losses hurt, sure, but to lose like that? With Dame getting Kevin Durant to search his Wikipedia page for his full name and turning the Nuggets inside-out to force overtime twice, it felt terrible to see Dame walk off with the L. CJ’s turnover, Nurk fouling out, the inability of literally anybody else other than Dame to string hoops together. Robert Covington’s mini-run aside, Rodney Hood, where art thou?
Dame was the savior Portland needed in Game 5 but the Blazers were not ready for their salvation. Nurkic’s mental fortitude is being tested and was broken again by the Nuggets as he picked up five fouls in the second half on his way to his third disqualification of the series. CJ hit a big shot in the first overtime but needed to deliver more as the team’s designated No. 2 option. He has failed to score more than 23 points in a game this series after averaging over 23 points per game in the regular season. CJ, to put it bluntly, just hasn’t lived up to his own standard. But I’m not saying anything he doesn’t already know.
Norm and Melo both failed to hold up their end in the overtimes. While many may get on Robert Covington for a missed dunk in the 2nd OT, Covington may have been the only Blazer who matched Lillard tonight in fitting his job description. He defended, he forced turnovers, he guarded Jokic, and made some big shots.
Portland’s stars did what they typically do after a loss, taking public accountability and trying to build motivation for the next game. The Nuggets, who seem to be just like the Blazers in their poor tendency of not knowing how to act with a lead, may very well serve another no-show performance as they did in Game 4. The only problem is that while the rest of the Nuggets team might do that, Jokic is not someone you can bet on not to show up. To win this series, Portland has to do what they haven’t done all series: play at a high level in back-to-back games.
The story is the same as it always is. They have to defend better and keep their focus through possessions. Nurkic has to remind himself that one foul can’t be compounded by another one out of frustration. And as much as I can rail on McCollum’s lack of a big game, there has been one common thread in Portland’s three losses: Nurkic has fouled out in every single one.
Lillard is right, Nurk didn’t get a fair whistle, and maybe Dame’s advocacy will lead to Nurk getting more calls in Game 6. But if the Blazers are to force a Game 7, let alone win the series, Nurk has got to take a page from Dame to learn how to breathe things out when he feels like the refs are on his head. Only the fate of this entire Blazers era, from top to bottom, hinges on his ability to do that.
Nurk's selfishness is going to be the end of me.