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Trail Blazers Player Grades: Opening Game Victory

By Steven Dewald

Oct 25, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) drives on Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) in the first half at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) drives on Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) in the first half at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rip City Project hands out player grades for the Trail Blazers 113-104 victory over the Jazz

The Trail Blazers opened their season in dramatic fashion last night. The Moda Center crowd witnessed another classic game from Portland’s talented backcourt, as Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum played a near-perfect game. Despite the victory, not everyone on the roster had a memorable outing. Let’s now run through the squad and breakdown last night’s performances.

Lillard’s 39 points were good enough for him to claim the number two spot on the list for opening night scoring performances in Trail Blazers history. Even his biggest skeptics have to start taking his MVP candidacy seriously, as it appears that he is already in midseason form. Lillard flirted with a triple double against the Jazz, which could be a sign of things to come this season.. PG. Trail Blazers. DAMIAN LILLARD. A+

A. McCollum’s night was highly efficient for a player that relies heavily on low percentage shots. His 25 points on 8-16 shooting was supplemented with a perfect performance from the charity stripe. It is hard to envision Portland losing games when their backcourt combines for sixty-plus points.. SG. Trail Blazers. C.J. MCCOLLUM

MAURICE HARKLESS. F. You weren’t alone if you didn’t notice Harkless in last night’s contest. The newly re-signed forward didn’t get in the score column and was routinely abused by Joe Johnson. Look for Harkless to get back on track against a Clippers team that struggled to shut him down in the postseason last year.. SF. Trail Blazers

Trail Blazers. AL-FAROUQ AMINU. B. It is clear that opposing teams are going to continue to dare Aminu to shoot from beyond the arc, and Portland’s power forward punished the Jazz for doing just that. Aminu went a solid 2-3 from deep, which helped open up the court for Lillard and McCollum to operate. He did a superb job of frustrating Boris Diaw on the defensive end as well.. PF

F. Not exactly how you want to start the season if your Plumlee. It appears that he has carried his preseason foul trouble over to the regular season, which puts a lot of responsibility on Portland’s second unit. Plumlee tried to find his groove on offense early, but it resulted in a couple ill-advised shots from mid-range. It won’t get any easier either, as the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan will be an even bigger handful than Rudy Gobert.. C. Trail Blazers. MASON PLUMLEE

B+. With Plumlee in foul trouble, Terry Stotts called upon Davis to fill the void. The reserve big man was a nightmare for Utah. Davis was able to impact the game on both ends of the court in the second half. He pulled down three offensive rebounds and altered several shots on the defensive end.. PF/C. Trail Blazers. ED DAVIS

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ALLEN CRABBE. A. Lillard has received the majority of award talk, but Allen Crabbe looks like he could be a serious contender for an award of his own (Sixth Man of the Year Award). The newly paid guard displayed why the Nets offered him 75 million dollars over the offseason. His near perfect shooting performance from the three point line (4-5) helped lead a very potent reserve unit for the Trail Blazers.. SG. Trail Blazers