The Portland Trail Blazers play their first game tonight at home in the Moda Center against the Utah Jazz. Here are 3 things to watch for in this exhibition.
In their third preseason game, and their first one at home, the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Utah Jazz. They will look to replicate their results from Friday when they defeated the Phoenix Suns, 115-93, with staunch defense and impressive production from their bench unit.
Here are 3 things to watch for as this game against the Jazz gets underway:
How do they guard Donovan Mitchell?
The Blazers probably won’t do anything too fancy to stop the Jazz’s sophomore phenom Donovan Mitchell – it’s preseason – but it will still be interesting to see who they elect to guard him.
Mitchell plays two-guard, so CJ McCollum traditionally would be asked to matchup against him. McCollum could certainly prove his defensive worth if he is able to contain Mitchell this game.
And he should have a decent shot; he’s not only an inch taller than the sophomore, but he spoke last season about his improved defense being thanks in large part to better understanding his matchups. And with a ton of teams undoubtedly watching tons tape on Mitchell, who can sometimes be the Jazz’s only real option on offense, McCollum should have the resources available to stand up to him.
When McCollum goes to the bench, we may see how well Seth Curry, Nik Stauskas, and Jake Layman can defend a premier offensive player.
Perhaps we could even see the Blazers employ a similar defensive scheme as the Jazz, leading Donovan Mitchel towards Jusuf Nurkic down low and take their chances with a finisher against their rim protector.
This game will illuminate a lot about how the Blazers will guard elite offensive guards, especially since Phoenix didn’t play Devin Booker.
Does Jake Layman get more minutes?
I’m becoming a Jake Layman fan this preseason. He’s started the first two games of preseason due to Maurice Harkless’s recovering from injury, and he has looked confident and aggressive while making the most of his minutes.
Against Phoenix, he hit all four of his field goals for 13 points in 10.7 minutes.
Stotts elected to pull Layman midway through the first quarter. Layman then did not see the floor until halfway through the fourth, where he hit three of his shots – two of which from deep.
Stotts may give Layman more consistent time this game to see if he can continue being reliable from the floor. If he can become a consistent shooter who can even create a bit off the dribble, there’s a chance Layman could insert into the role the Blazers opened up for Stauskas.
Do the Blazers use Zach Collins down low or on the perimeter?
This is something that can be watched every game. The Blazers used Collins more as a faceup option during the regular season last year, but they positioned him down low throughout NBA Summer League.
I’m convinced that Zach Collins is best as a faceup four/five rather than one who should be in the post. I like the idea of developing this part of his game so he can attack mismatches with his height but the main part of his game should be around the perimeter.
Against the Jazz, we could see Collins used primarily as a floor-spacer to force guys like Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert out of the lane. Meyers Leonard and Collins could be great neutralizers for teams that have elite rim protectors so Portland can keep space open for their backcourt.
Understanding how well the Blazers two backup bigs can space the floor against good defenders, I feel, is more beneficiary than seeing if Collins can stack up against Favors in the post.
Watch the game at 6:00 P.S.T. Let’s go Blazers!