Denver Nuggets need to give Damian Lillard the “Steph Curry treatment”

Since the start of May, including Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets, Damian Lillard has scored 30+ points in 8 of the 10 games he has played in and is shooting nearly 47% from three-point range. If Denver is to win Game 2 of this series and potentially take back control of this matchup against Portland, then they are going to have to start treating Lillard like Steph Curry. 

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What I mean by this is that Denver needs to start double-teaming Damian Lillard on the perimeter and not give him any bit of space when Jusef Nurkic or Enes Kanter come up to set a screen past the three-point line. 

We saw how dangerous Damian Lillard can be in this series in Game 1, as he went for 34 points on 5-12 shooting from three-point range, which is why the Nuggets need to try and force the ball out of his hands. 

In the two play-in games that Steph Curry and the Warriors played, Curry was double-teamed everytime he had the ball in his hands and was hardly ever left and given an open look at the rim. The same needs to be done here by the Denver Nuggets on Damian Lillard if they are to have a chance to win and move on in the playoffs. 

Lillard is just on another level right now and he is locked in, which is why trying to make somebody else beat them needs to be the way Denver handles Game 2. C.J. McCollum, Norman Powell and Carmelo Anthony have proven that they can be factors offensively, which is not a great sign for Denver, but having them take shots instead of Damian Lillard definitely gives them a better chance to win.