The NBA is back, plus thoughts on the Denver Nuggets with Alex English

I had a chance to check out some NBA action last night as the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers met again for the first time since the spring, when the Trail Blazers emerged victorious from a hard-fought Western Conference semifinal round series that went a full seven games.

Although it was a preseason tilt up in the Rose City, it still offered a glimpse into what promises to be another exciting NBA campaign, particularly in the Western Conference.

Incidentally, ahead of last night’s game, which was won by the Nuggets, 105-94, I had a chance to have a conversation with arguably the greatest player in Nuggets franchise history, Alex English. Along with some other topics that I’ll share in this space in the future, I asked him his thoughts on this year’s edition of his old team.

“I think this is probably going to be their best chance to get to the conference finals,” English said. “I felt like if they could’ve gotten to Golden State (in the conference finals), they would have beaten Golden State. It wouldn’t have been the same way as it was with the Trail Blazers (who lost in a four-game sweep in the Western Conference finals). I think the Nuggets matched up well with them. I think the Nuggets would have matched up well with Toronto (in the NBA Finals), you know. I felt like they would have beaten Golden State, and then they would have possibly have beaten Toronto. But you know, the balls were falling for Toronto, everything was falling in their favor. And then the Nuggets, that last series, it was…I personally felt like they had as good a chance last year as any one of those teams in the finals.”

As Denver looks to bounce back from its best season (54 wins) since 2012-13, attention will go beyond stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Their solid roster has added even more depth with former Oklahoma City forward Jeremi Grant, and their 2018 NBA Lottery pick, Michael Porter, Jr., who had yet to play an NBA game due to his recovering from a back injury he sustained in his only season at the University of Missouri.

Thus, a big question entering last night and the season in general, is Porter, Jr.’s progression. The topic was not lost on English, who told me, “I think everybody is waiting to see that.”

The wait ended last night, as Porter Jr. contributed some nifty plays (see below), on his way to 9 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

?M?P?J?#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/iCudpgV5Zv

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 9, 2019