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If you'd told me earlier in the Trail Blazers season that their fate would depend on the health of a shoulder joint, I would have talked about progress.
Bat all the knees that worry us.
But that's where the franchise is, as the Denver Blazers and Nuggets prepare to start the semifinals of the Western Conference. The first match will take place Monday in Denver. And the shoulder in question belongs to Turk Blazers, of Swiss origin, Enes Kanter.
"How is the shoulder, Enes?"Is about to become a tired chorus.
His response Friday after training: "I'm not going to lie, it hurts a lot. I have trouble changing my shirt. It's very difficult even to raise it above my head. "
You're going to get tired of asking yourself questions about this shoulder. The media will be fed up with asking Kanter about it. And Kanter will be fed up with telling us over the next two weeks that he would like to have another month to heal, because that's what the shoulder needs.
The first match is going to be fascinating, is not it?
Kanter has an appointment with Nikola Jokic. He is 24 years old, he runs as if his shoes were made of bricks but passed like Arvydas Sabonis. The Nuggets' seven-foot center had more than triple doubles than dunks this season and spent Sunday figuratively at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame due to its dominant performance against the Spurs.
I did not check Kanter's Google History, but it's a safe bet that it includes the phrase, "How to break free from a bear trap."
That's what Jokic is. He averaged 23.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists in seven games against San Antonio. He was particularly deadly in the seventh game, where he rebounded the Nuggets in the next round. But if Kanter can not give the Blazers quality minutes in this series, I do not see how they will escape alive.
So yes, how is the shoulder?
This is the question that goes to the first game. And I'm sure Portland coach Terry Stotts is planning to play Jokic's milestones, perhaps turning this series into a track competition featuring Damian Lillard and the more agile bigs (See: Meyers Leonard and Zach Collins).
Gregg Popovich tried too.
The best result would be that Kanter's shoulder is ready and the Blazers play the first match against a tired Nugget team, taking advantage of the home advantage. But if Kanter is not ready to play, it's not the worst strategy to stay with him in the first two games, to leave with Leonard and Collins and to have the shoulder for five extra days of rest. The third game will be Friday in Portland.
Once again, this is a scenario that Geoff Clark, the team's head coach, is going to study.
I guess we will not know until Monday's tip. But certainly, Kanter will want to play, because I watched him during his brief stay in Portland grimacing, wincing and playing despite the pain. In fact, he injured his shoulder against Oklahoma City, then played for a long time, running with one arm to his side in transition.
He is hard.
Lillard and his company are tough right now. The Blazers play with a lot of confidence. That's why I chose Portland to win the series. But I think it will last up to seven games and will depend largely on Kanter's ability to heal some players and play despite the pain.
Portland gathers around this kind of oppressed stuff, does not it?
It became the brand.
Since the Blazers do not have the advantage of playing at home in this series, they may be about to replace their backup center … well, I still think that Portland has Denver exactly there where he wishes. Kanter may have to play with one arm.
And Jokic complicates everything, does not it?
The playoff heat of the first round of Portland was about to be taken seriously. The Blazers were tired of making fun of the playoffs. They went out and did something about it. But this second round concerns the guts. Because if the Blazers go forward, it will take some.
Because Portland wins this seventh game on the road.
But how is this shoulder?
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