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The Portland Trail Blazers Must Experiment like Mad Scientists Through the End of the Schedule

By Doug Patrick

Portland Trail Blazers Terry Stotts Seth Curry Damian Lillard (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
Portland Trail Blazers Terry Stotts Seth Curry Damian Lillard (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers Enes Kanter Zach Collins Jake Layman (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Big men…

The big man rotation will naturally be the team’s first concern. Although Enes Kanter puts up the gaudier statlines by way of his low post scoring and rebounding, Zach Collins may be a better starting option.

Collins is the much better defender between the two, and his lesser offensive game will allow for Damian Lillard and McCollum to get more opportunities after the tip-off. Plus, he has had an impressive stretch recently as a glue-guy archetype, bringing tons of energy, putting his body on the line, and even talking some trash occasionally.

Kanter will likely remain in his rim-running, post-option role for the second-unit. He acts as a big body who can keep up with a bench who likes to push on defensive rebounds and can punish substitute centers down low.

Where it gets most interesting, though, is with Meyers Leonard. Although it’s been more than a month since he was dropped from the regular rotation, Nurk’s absence obviously opens up some minutes.

Leonard should certainly get some time to prove himself over these concluding days – and for good reason. A Leonard who hits threes and crashes the boards even semi-regularly could create a lot of options for the Blazers. Perhaps he replaces Collins in the first-unit during games to create space for Dame and CJ while Collins can pair more often with Kanter.

I would be particularly anxious to see Leonard get some run if the current playoff matchups hold and Portland meets the Utah Jazz in the first round. After all, in their fourth and final contest against them, Leonard torched the Jazz for 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and his 4-for-5 shooting from deep helped keep Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors out of the paint.

There’s even a chance we could see Al-Farouq Aminu play up at the five when opponents elect to go small. Although he likely doesn’t have the strength to play center often, putting him there for a couple minutes would be a unique ripple for this team.