Carmelo Anthony Pinpoints Portland's Greatest Playoff Strength
Carmelo Anthony knows exactly what to expect in the postseason.
The 18-year veteran has missed the playoffs just five times in his storied NBA tenure. 'Melo's essentially played a full additional season of playoff games, too, entering the Trail Blazers first-round series against the Denver Nuggets having appeared in 77 postseason contests.
Not even altitude of the Mile High City will come as a surprise to Anthony. The first seven-and-a-half seasons of his career were spent in Denver, where he led the Nuggets to the 2009 Western Conference Finals – the deepest he's ever been in the playoffs.
When Anthony speaks about postseason basketball, basically, it's wise to take note.
What's the Blazers' greatest strength entering the postseason? As Anthony pinpointed after practice on Wednesday, it's not three-point shooting, improved defense or even the all-encompassing impact of Damian Lillard.
Playing the first round at what amounts to full-strength, the future Hall-of-Famer insists, is the factor looming largest to Portland's potential success.
"Health," he said. "Our health is our biggest strength, I could tell you that, comin' down the stretch of the season. And again, anytime you can go into a postseason healthy, that has to be one of the biggest strengths."
C.J. McCollum missed a third of the regular season with a broken foot. Jusuf Nurkic's broken wrist kept him out even longer. Portland's April doldrums weren't just reached due to a series of one-point losses, but because Damian Lillard's MVP play tailed off significantly as he dealt with a series of nagging injuries.
Portland's three best players are all humming now, and it showed in the Blazers' season-saving turnaround. But Anthony believes the assurance that comes with a healthy roster plays a major part in team-wide mindset, too.
"When you healthy that gives you confidence, that gives you momentum. You feel better about yourself, you feel better about situations, you feel better about game plans," he said. "Mentally you feel better. When you're healthy, the dominoes just fall into place for you. That's what we're experiencing right now."
If the Blazers are feeling the mental buoyance of health as Game 1 approaches, it's fair to wonder just how the Nuggets are doing.
Not only is Jamal Murray out for the season with a torn ACL, but Will Barton hasn't played since April 24, sidelined by a hamstring injury. He's likely to play in round one, and there's even a chance he could be available Saturday night.
PJ Dozier, unfortunately for Denver, is a different story. The most recent reporting indicates he's still on a longer path toward returning from a hip injury suffered just over two weeks ago.
The Nuggets could be out three rotation players – one star and two starters – just when they need to be healthy most. The Blazers, meanwhile, are as close to full-strength as they can get, Zach Collins still shelved by shoulder surgery.
If 'Melo's right about the all-encompassing impact of health in the postseason, that symbiosis could make all the difference for Portland.
"As you see over the past two weeks, two-and-a-half weeks, us being healthy you saw the difference in our play," he said. "You saw the momentum that we picked up as far as winning games and our style of play and gameplay. Everybody started to lock-in. Everybody felt comfortable doing what they needed to do and playing the roles that they needed to play, because we knew we could rely on each other because we was healthy."
How many players can short-handed Denver really rely on? If Michael Malone doesn't come up with an answer beyond Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets could be in trouble against the Blazers.