Report Card for the Trail Blazers 108-92 Win Over Utah

A report card for all 9 players who contributed to the Trail Blazers 16 point victory over the Jazz.

Starters

Damian Lillard: 35 points/3 assists/4 rebounds

Make it two straight games with +34 points for the all-star guard. Following his 14-25 shooting night in Minnesota, Lillard continued to flash his hot hand, hitting 14 baskets on 27 shots. One side of his game that didn’t shine on Wednesday night was his ability to get to the foul line. He made both of his attempts in only one trip. Lillard should be able to shoot around 8 or 9 foul shots a game. That’s virtually 8 or 9 free points, considering how solid the PG is at shooting foul shots (career avg. of .861%). A

CJ McCollum: 27 points/4 assists/1 rebound

On the report card for Monday’s win over the T-Wolves, I gushed about CJ’s fabulous +/-. I never thought that that number could get any higher, but alas, he raised his plus/minus to 21 in last night’s win. To review, that means that the Blazers outscored the Jazz by a total of 21 points when McCollum was on the court. That in itself is enough for me to give him an…A+

Al-Farouq Aminu: 13 points/1 assist/8 rebounds

Aminu has now scored in double digits for the 4th straight game. He also made a three in this game, which is an underrated aspect of his game. With Leonard struggling from beyond the arc, the only dependable 3 point shooters the Blazers have are Damian and CJ. If Farouq can consistently make threes, it would massively help Portland’s offense. Throw in the fact that he got 2 steals, and it was once again a solid performance from the former Maverick. A-

Meyers Leonard: 2 points/0 assists/0 rebounds

Leonard got injured in the second quarter of the game, so his stats are a little misleading. With that said, would I be surprised if he played 25 minutes and still had these numbers? With the way he’s shooting? Probably not. N/A…more N than A though.

Nov 4, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) fouls Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee (24) as Plumlee goes up for a shot during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Mason Plumlee: 12 points/2 assists/16 rebounds

This is the Mason Plumlee that I have been waiting to see: A physical big man who has double digit scoring and rebounding potential. This was also his biggest night in terms of minutes played, (35). Some of this can be credited to Leonard’s injury, but most of it was the fact that he was playing really, really well. Free throws were an issue though, as he went 2-9, (.222%) on the night. A

Bench

Ed Davis: 6 points/1 assist/2 rebounds

Unlike Plumlee, Davis’ minutes were actually his lowest of the young season, and it showed. He only got up 3 shots, and accumulated 6 total points. It’s still early, and it seems as if Terry Stotts is testing out different front court combinations until he strikes gold. D+

Noah Vonleh: 1 points/0 assists/0 rebounds

Surprisingly, Vonleh has a positive +/- in this ball game. He didn’t make a shot, and made one of his two free throws, but numbers don’t lie. When he was on the court, the Blazers outscored their opponent by 3 points. His stat line was as ugly as a dachshund, but the team did well when he was in. C

Maurice Harkless: 15 points/0 assists/10 rebounds

Nothing about last night’s game made me happier then seeing Harkless breakout for his best game of the year. He was 100% from behind the 3 point line, and was the only other player to register double digits rebounds other than Plumlee. You want him back Orlando? Sorry. A

Allen Crabbe: 1 points/0 assists/3 rebounds

I don’t even want to write about Crabbe anymore. It makes my more physically depressed than every time I watch the movie Monsters Inc. Speaking of monsters, that’s one thing that AC hasn’t been all year. Frankly, it’s possible that Crabbe will never be a monster on an NBA court. D-