Portland Trail Blazers: Reviewing a big week of offseason moves
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers.
Lots of possibilities
With this group, the Portland Trail Blazers have so many possibilities. If they want to go small, they can. Remember when Golden State had their “Death Lineup”? It was Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant. Here’s a possible version of that for Rip City. Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood, Carmelo Anthony, and Robert Covington.
Yeah, that lineup is scary. Scary good and scary bad. They’d be giving up a lot of size, but on the flip side, they would be demanding one-on-one defense with little help. For example, everyone is a legit threat to make a three. One of the keys to the death lineup was that it invited the opponent to take the easier two-point basket in exchange for the trifecta on the other end. Consequently, this would be the same thing for the Blazers. Additionally, when Houston played small-ball last season, Covington effectively handled playing the five on the back end.
If the Blazers need to go big, they can play Collins with Nurkic or Kanter while having Covington at the small forward spot. They could even play all three big men with Nurk or Kantner in the middle and Collins playing at the three.
Backcourt question mark
The biggest area of concern is the backup guard spots. Concern gives the wrong notion. It’s more the one area of proven NBA depth. Gary Trent Jr. improved greatly from his first to second NBA seasons. Hopefully, the trend continues. Consequently, it’s time for Anfernee Simons to be the big-time player the Blazers spent a 2019 first-round draft pick on.
Expecting Simmons to be a 20-point per game scorer this year. More realistically, the Blazers need him to average close to double-digit points, shoot 40 percent from the field (with 35 percent from behind the arc), and mix in some assists and rebounds. That would be a huge help to the second unit and a great sign that he’s developing.
Overall, the Portland Trail Blazers player transactions from this week make them a top-four team in the Western Conference and a threat to make the finals. They now have the depth to make a long playoff run.
What do you think about the Portland Trail Blazers’ recent additions? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.