The Portland Trail Blazers' next stop on their road trip is Denver for a Northwest Division duel against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. It is the second of Portland's four-game stint away from home, having opened it with a dominant victory over the Utah Jazz.

The Blazers enter the contest 4-1 and third in the Western Conference standings, their only loss coming at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Nuggets are 3-2 and sit eighth in the West. Denver holds two wins over the New Orleans Pelicans and one win over the Phoenix Suns, eating losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.

Deni Avdija leads the Blazers with 23.0 points per game, followed by Damian Lillard at 19.2. Donovan Clingan is first in two categories for Portland, pulling down nine rebounds per game along with two blocks. Avdija leads the Blazers in playmaking at 5.6 assists per game, while Toumani Camara is Portland's best snatcher, averaging 1.4 steals per game.

The Nuggets top scorers are Jamal Murray at 25.8 points per game and Jokic at 21.2. Jokic also posts a team-high 9.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game for Denver. Christian Braun is the Nuggets' top thief at 2.4 steals per game.

This will be the first of four games in the season series between the teams, two games apiece at each site. The Nuggets won last year's series 3-1, including an emphatic 54-point victory in Portland. The Blazers lead the all-time series 105-102, though they have lost three in a row against the Nuggets and 11 in a row on the road. Portland last won in Denver on August 6, 2019, in a 125-115 victory.

Team stats

Instead of listing traditional stats available on the NBA website, I'll mostly be looking at statistics provided by Cleaning The Glass (a website I've referenced and used many times in previous pieces) to breakdown the matchup and identify areas of interest. Cleaning The Glass excludes garbage time and possessions at the end of quarters, along with measuring statistics per 100 possessions instead of per game, which is the widely preferred lens to evaluate and compare teams through.

Per Cleaning The Glass, the Blazers are second in the NBA in points scored per 100 possessions at 121.3 and 10th in points allowed per 100 possessions at 109.6. Portland is fourth in efficiency differential at +11.7.

Denver, meanwhile, is 18th in all three categories of points scored per 100 possessions (111.0), points allowed per 100 possessions (113.2) and efficiency differential (-2.3).

A key area to keep an eye on is the offensive glass and second chance points. Portland allows the fewest second chance points per game (10.6) in the league according to the NBA official stats. And though Denver is 15th in offensive rebounds at 12.0 per game, the Nuggets' 18.6 second chance points per contest is third in the NBA according to HoopsJunkie.

That's because while Denver doesn't pull down a whole ton of offensive rebounds, they are very, very efficient at maximizing the few opportunities they do create. The Nuggets are second in putback points per 100 missed field goals (25.1), ninth in putback plays generated per 100 missed goals (16.7) and second in points scored per 100 putback plays (147.1) per Cleaning The Glass.

Portland, as evidenced by its fewest second chance points allowed, is solid at keeping teams off the glass and thwarting them when they do happen upon an offensive rebound. The Blazers are sixth in putback points allowed per 100 missed field goals (13.1), eighth in allowed putback plays generated per 100 missed goals (12.9) and ninth in points allowed per 100 putback plays (100.0) according to Cleaning The Glass.

Most importantly, however, the Blazers are second in opponent offensive rebound percentage (23.8). The Nuggets will likely see even less second chance opportunities than usual — as long as Portland doesn't let them convert, Denver's offense, which is already not great this year, will be squeezed and left with one less scoring option.