Returning players boost Portland Trail Blazers chances in restart
Opening night 2.0 for the Portland Trail Blazers is July 31. Two players returning from injury makes this a team to be feared.
The Portland Trail Blazers enter the NBA restart three-and-a-half games behind Memphis for the West Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. With only eight games to make up ground, they need to play lights out. It’s a good thing head coach Terry Stotts gets two of his best big men back from the injured list. Both Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins are back from their long term injuries.
Nurkic hasn’t played an NBA game in over 15 months. Trail Blazers fans will recall, the seven-footer suffered an ugly injury against Brooklyn in March of 2019. In that game, Nurkic landed awkwardly after going for an offensive rebound. As a result, he broke both the tibia and fibula in his left leg.
The big man has worked hard to rehab following surgery to repair his injuries. He was just about ready to return when the season shut down for COVID-19. In an interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, on March 6, Jurkic said he wanted to help his team make a playoff push and needed to play his way back into game shape:
“I’m not going to be playing 40 minutes. But for me, mentally, I need to get these reps in before I can play (extended minutes).” – Jusuf Nurkic
The break gave him an extra 18 weeks to build strength in the injured leg and improve his conditioning.
Also back is power forward Zach Collins. The former Gonzaga star injured his shoulder during Portland’s third game of the season. Without two of their best inside players, the Trail Blazers got off to a horrid 5–12 start. In mid-November, the team signed 35-year-old free agent Carmelo Anthony to replace Collins. The six-time All-NBA forward responded by averaging 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Almost a year ago to the day, the Blazers traded for center Hassan Whiteside from Miami. The eight-year NBA veteran has held down the middle for Portland, while Nurkic was rehabbing. During 2019–20, Whiteside has played in 61 games, average 31.4 minutes, 16.3 points, and league second-best 14.2 boards per night. His importance to the Blazers cant be overstated, they lost all five games he missed.
Dame drives the bus
Even with all the bigs back, it’s still up to Damian Lillard to make the Portland Trail Blazers’ motor run for the remainder of the season, and hopefully, the postseason as well. Without sharpshooter Trevor Ariza, who opted out of Orlando for personal reasons, it will be even more important for Lillard to space the floor.
He can open it up for the trees in the paint by nailing a few threes early to make defenses come out a little further. If Lillard is cold from the outside, then he needs to find CJ McCollum or one of the other wings to shoot from behind the arc.
It will be an uphill climb in Orlando for the Portland Trail Blazers. But now the team has a considerable advantage inside. There is both top-notch talent and depth at the four and five positions. Portland can control the glass as well as wear down the opposition. The exciting part of the story is that the Blazers wouldn’t have had this favorable situation if the season went on as originally scheduled.
What do you think about the Portland Trail Blazers’ chances the rest of the way? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.