With preseason about to start, who will the Portland Trail Blazers forward starters be, and who will back them up off the bench?
Power Forward
Zach Collins has been confirmed as the starting power forward for his third season for the Portland Trail Blazers. Collins has shown steady improvement in his young career in terms of skill and his physical profile. Having only averaged 15 and 17 minutes a game in his first two years in Portland, he will need to earn the trust of coach Terry Stotts to earn 25 plus minutes a night. Collins potential two-way ability is the reason he was drafted in the lottery by the Blazers.
He will need to show every bit of that potential to earn crunch time minutes on this team. As the power forward position is seen as a scorers position these days, they will need a lot of production from him to justify this position in the line-up. This is even more important when he’s next to non shooter Hassan Whiteside.
If Collins isn’t up to playing in crunch time then Anthony Tolliver or Mario Hezonja are the next two options. Hezonja’s size and length are exciting for the Blazers but his inconsistent scoring both inside and out left much to be desired when he was on the New York Knicks. On a tight Blazers squad he may now be locked in and provide the punchy scoring the bench needs.
Tolliver may well be the crunch time option and permanent backup. A stout defender in the post, he can guard smaller players on switches while being a strong rebounder also. Tolliver’s value as a spot up shooter is immense though. Over the last six seasons Tolliver has shot 38.8% from three-point range. This knockdown shooting is key for the Blazers after losing stretch big Meyers Leonard.
Small Forward
Like the other forward position, small forward is also a position of uncertainty at the moment. With Jake Layman and Mo Harkless both on new teams, the onus is on Rodney Hood to take up the slack. Hood had an excellent playoffs, his combination of size and skill giving the Blazers a point of difference in their offense. With Hood likely to move between the two and the three this leaves a number of minutes to be split between other wing options.
These include Hezonja, Gary Trent Jr, newly acquired Kent Bazemore and maybe even rookie Nassir Little. Bazemore is a great defender and would fill this position well. He has a passable three-point shot and a reputation of being a tough customer on the less glamorous end of the floor. Trent Jr and Little would be strong options offensively but may not have the size or defensive acumen to defend NBA threes.
Their lack of NBA experience may count against them when the minutes are split up during the season. Hezonja as discussed above is a great option if his offense is on, for the sieve like Knicks last season he showed some strong moments on that end of the floor. With the lack of scoring options at the four and the five they will need a small forward who can play both ends.
In summary, this Blazers squad has strong depth in certain positions. This is a positive but it may mean that some of the more inexperienced members of the team will need to step up during the season. Hopefully when the regular season starts this picture is a little clearer.