Portland Trail Blazers – Setting a rotation for a talented and deep team
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers.
Second Unit
PG – Anfernee Simmons
SG – Gary Trent Jr.
SF – Rodney Hood
SF/PF – Carmelo Anthony
C – Enes Kanter
Expect Hood to be eased back into games as he is also recovering from an injury. After just 21 games last year, Hood suffered an Achilles injury, which shut his season down. Hood has been rehabbing ever since he had successful surgery to repair the damage. This second unit is going to be even more interesting when Collins comes back. This is where Stotts and his staff are going to have great headaches.
When was the last time someone ever said, “man, I have a great headache today”? Well, in sports, it usually refers to the issue of having too much talent to play. But this is exactly the issue at hand. Trent had a breakout year last year and should continue to build on it. Kanter and Anthony will anchor the frontcourt scoring and probably be the focal point of the second unit’s overall scoring attack. Except when Trent and Hood are drilling threes. Melo will need to increase his rebounding prowess to help with Kanter’s rebounding ability.
Simmons made strides in his second year of the NBA. All his counting stats increased. Unfortunately, his shooting percentages all decreased with his increased minutes and volume. This year expect Simmons to be a more effective and efficient player.
With Hood being slowly easing into the game flow, the athletic Nassir Little should see increased minutes. I can’t blame you if you forgot he was on the team. Last year’s rookie didn’t do much for the team. This offseason, he’s apparently been following and working with Anthony, per some off-season reports.
If these reports are true, then this is HUGE news! Little’s athleticism has never been in doubt. What has been in doubt is his basketball abilities. Until turning pro, Little could get by with just being more physically gifted than his opponent. Now, he’s playing with men in the NBA who are his equal, if not better. Little may never be the offensive beast some people thought when he was coming out of high school, but he can be a respectable 3&D NBA player.