Portland Trail Blazers should move away from Rodney Hood
An injury-riddled second season
Despite Portland’s multitude of injuries, Hood thrived in his new role. He averaged 11.0 points on 50.6 percent from the field, including 49.3 percent from three-point range, while being one of the team’s better defenders. However, when it rains, it pours, and in the Pacific Northwest, we are way too familiar with rain. The injury bug eventually bit Rodney Hood. An Achilles tear ended his season after only 21 games.
As a result of all the injuries, Blazers coach Terry Stotts and his staff did their best Macgyver impression as they tried to build helicopters and disarm nuclear weapons with paper clips and chewing gum. The team was running out of ideas when they discovered they had a diamond in the rough all along in Gary Trent Jr. Additionally, Carmelo Anthony proved he still had some gas left in the tank.
Trent and Anthony, along with Damian Lillard, playing out of his mind, helped keep the team within striking distance of the playoffs. The COVID-19 break gave enough time for center Jusuf Nurkic and power forward Zach Collins to return from their respective injuries. As a result, the Portland Trail Blazers made one final push in the bubble to make the playoffs. All the while, Rodney Hood, who was still recovering, watched from home.
After an impressive run in the bubble followed by a first-round playoff exit against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, Portland entered the offseason on some positive notes. For example, the Blazers discovered the untapped potential of Trent. On the negative side, the L.A. series exposed some limitations and areas to improve.
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