Damian Lillard is set to carry a very heavy load this year for the rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers. After watching the other four members of the team’s starting lineup relocate to new teams, Lillard is poised to take the next step forward as Portland’s franchise cornerstone and lead the team into a new era.
He seems more than ready to succeed as the team leader, especially after averaging career highs of 21.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with 6.2 assists last season and reaching his second consecutive All-Star game.
However, the team will need a number two option to step up and help as much as possible for the team to make positive strides. Which player on the roster is most capable of rising to the challenge and becoming the team’s top scoring option after Lillard?
This question is yet unanswered and will be one of the more intriguing narratives when the time comes. With that being said, there is a list of possible players that appear to have the best chance at achieving the role of the team’s number two guy.
One player that may be the most polished and skilled option is Gerald Henderson. Henderson averaged 12.1 points per game last season, along with 2.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds as the Hornets’ starting shooting guard. He averaged as many as 15.5 points per game back in 2012-13. Entering his seventh season as a pro, Henderson gets the opportunity with a new team to validate his game, this time as a number two option on a team.
Playing alongside Lillard, Henderson will get plenty of chances to excel and do what he does best, which is knocking down mid-range jumpers and getting to the rim. His long distance shot continues to improve, and if he can establish himself on the offensive side of the ball, the team may have their “sidekick” to Lillard.
Another player that could maneuver into this role is C.J. McCollum, who is the best long distance shooter among Trail Blazers guards. McCollum averaged 6.8 points in 15.7 minutes per game last season, but should be able to improve on that with increased usage and the opportunity to develop consistency.
We saw a glimpse of him in a bigger role during the 2015 playoffs, when Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo were injured. McCollum started and averaged a stat line of 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He also knocked in just over two 3-point field goals per game, setting a franchise playoff record with seven in a single outing.
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Though he is likely to come off the bench as a sixth man, McCollum can provide that scoring punch that the team needs. He will bring lots of energy as a change-of-pace type player, and he could very well develop as the team’s second best scoring option. Plus, the team may look to play him alongside Lillard for 3-point shooting later in games, which should be a very nice backcourt.
Apr 10, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Mason Plumlee (1) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards forward Drew Gooden (90) during second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Henderson and McCollum are the lead options for guards, but there is a big man or two that could also establish themselves as the second go to guy.
One of these big men is newly acquired center Mason Plumlee. Coming over from the Nets, he averaged 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season. However, when inserted into the lineup as a starter while Brook Lopez recovered from injury, Plumlee boosted his stat line up to 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds; sustained over 24 games.
He is expected to receive the lion’s share of minutes as the Trail Blazers starting center, and he will look to put up similar (if not better) numbers than he did as a starter last season. At just 25 years old, Plumlee still has a lot of room to grow as a player, especially on the offensive side of the ball. If he can further improve and settle into his starting role in Portland, he may provide Lillard with a great big man to run pick-and-rolls with and dump it off to in the post.
Other big men like Ed Davis and even small forward Al-Farouq Aminu were brought in for athleticism and defense, but neither are great bets to become the team’s secondary option on offense.
Noah Vonleh, a player brought in from the Nicolas Batum trade with the Hornets, is a very young talent that many believe could make a huge step forward this season. Though only receiving 10.4 minutes per game last year, he was forced to play behind many well-established bigs in Charlotte.
This year, he gets a chance on a young Portland team to come in and make an immediate impact off the bench. He is a true stretch four with great size and athleticism, and he could join McCollum in the second unit, giving the team a huge lift in scoring that they will most certainly need.
Nobody knows who will step up as the team’s number two guy, but Henderson, McCollum, Plumlee and even Vonleh have the best chance to make this leap. The only way to find out who emerges as the best candidate is to watch for ourselves when the regular season kicks off in late October.
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Next: Mailbag: Who should start alongside Lillard and Plumlee?