Arron Afflalo – Is he a better fit off the Portland bench?
By Bryce Olin
It pains me to write this. I hate the fact that we’re even discussing how to proceed without my favorite Blazer, Wesley Matthews, but I’ll try to get through it without the tears shorting out my keyboard.
It’s been less than a week since Matthews torn Achilles sent the Portland Trail Blazers’ world spinning, and it finally feels like the next step has to be forward.
In order for Portland to take the next step, Head Coach Terry Stotts has to begin to find the best lineup combinations that work. Matthews has been a staple in every “good” lineup the Blazers have trotted out in the past three seasons, so who can step up in his place now?
The obvious answer is Arron Afflalo, but I’m not so sure he makes a great addition into the starting rotation right now. That might sound stupid, but hear me out.
Afflalo is the best option for Portland at shooting guard; that’s a no-brainer. But, Portland also traded for Afflalo to fill a role that bolstered the bench. Why can’t Afflalo still fill that role?
For that to happen, C.J. McCollum would likely have to step into the starting lineup. Is he ready for that kind of pressure? Probably not, but it could be better than the alternative.
We can pretty much throw out what happened against the Minnesota Timberwolves one full day after Matthews’ injury, but I have to at least take it into account when considering performance.
In the game, Afflalo started and scored 14 points in 32 minutes of action. McCollum played 18 minutes off the bench and only scored three points.
In the six games Afflalo came off the bench with Matthews starting, the Blazers averaged 28.2 points off the bench. Against the Timberwolves, Portland only scored 22 points off the bench.
Again, it’s a very small sample size, but Afflalo appears to have the ability to boost the second unit offensively.
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At this point in McCollum’s career, he would benefit more from Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum creating shots for him than Afflalo would. Steve Blake is a good shot creator, but he’s not Lillard or Batum when it comes to making plays. If McCollum was inserted into the starting lineup, he might be able to hold his own for a few six-minute stretches throughout the game, scoring at an increased rate on spot-ups.
Stotts would still be able to stagger substitutions to get Afflalo on the court with the starters when need be. Afflalo would still get plenty of run with the Lillard, Batum, and LaMarcus Aldridge, but McCollum needs the extra support to maximize his talents.
Stotts has a history of playing veteran players over young players; however, he should mull over the strategic advantages of starting McCollum for spacing purposes and bring in Afflalo off the bench to carry the second unit.
Portland’s chances to make the Western Conference Finals took a huge hit with Matthews’ injury. At this point, they should be focusing on finding the right combination of pieces for the upcoming playoff run. They are not going to win in the playoffs without the bench playing well. I would like to see Stotts experiment with the lineup when the Trail Blazers have comfortable opportunities to do so.