The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets faced each other in the correct uniforms on Friday night. Those jerseys were about the only things familiar about the two squads. Denver played without MVP center Nikola Jokic. That alone was enough to render their offense nearly unrecognizable. The Blazers, on the other hand, started the game without super-scorer Anfernee Simons, veteran starter Jerami Grant, and every center who’s played meaningful minutes in the rotation this season.
Shattered lineups left the teams feeling each other out, equal parts chess match and circus. Scoring went high as defenses struggled to coordinate.