Portland Trail Blazers Roundtable: Analyzing the Current State of the Team and What to do Moving Forward

Question 3: What Are Some Encouraging Signs From This Season?

Ashlin: Zach Collins has radically improved his game this season. He is shooting 36.8% from three. More importantly, he has been fantastic finishing around the rim. Collins is shooting 66.1% on shots that are within 10 feet of the rim. If the Blazers are patient with him, Collins could eventually be the third star they need.

Patrick: Evan Turner tops my list. He’s been an absolute jackknife this season, and an anchor for Portland’s second-unit. Although his contract will never make sense, the Blazers are utilizing him the way he should be – as a decent facilitator who has several limitations. This season, though, his limitations are less apparent: he’s being asked to shoot the three-ball less, he only posts up when he has a smaller man on him, and he’s worked hard defensively for the most part.

Nurkic has also been a really great member of the team too. He is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career with highs in points, assists, rebounds, offensive rebounds, and field goal percentage.

Gutbrod: The consistent elite play of Damian Lillard remains a bright spot. Outside of Dame, the improvement seen from Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins should not go unnoticed. Nurkic had improved his consistency and production in his second year as a full-time starter before suffering the shoulder injury against the Clippers. Collins has stepped into the role as the leading scorer off the bench and has shown great promise as a 7’0” scoring big.

I’m honestly not sure why Collins and Nurkic don’t receive more run together. Collins has the shooting ability to maintain balance despite having two 7’0”s on the floor together and the combined shot blocking ability between the two could greatly benefit the inconsistent defensive play of the team.

Moore: Evan Turner has found his niche, leading the second team and displaying some of the skills that made him such a valuable player back in Boston and Philly. Nik Stauskas has played well. Meyers Leonard seems to be comfortable in his current role and is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Even Jake Layman is getting a ton of touches and has proven himself worthy of minutes. If Collins continues to improve and limits his foul trouble, then the second unit could be a major asset for the Blazers.

Piper: Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum both might be in the midst of their best seasons yet. The Blazers have already spent time at the top of the West and they still have a lot of room for improvement in a lot of areas, especially defensively.