Portland Trail Blazers: 5 (not so) bold season predictions

4. Zach Collins has a shot at Most Improved

At this point, you guys are probably wondering if I ever don’t write about Zach Collins. The Vegas-born big man has seemingly come on leaps and bounds in the offseason, and if his preseason performances are anything to go by (I understand they’re not always), then we can expect to see a different player come the 2019/20 season.

It wasn’t talked about too much, mostly because of Damian Lillard’s and CJ McCollum’s outstanding exploits, but Collins actually put together a very solid postseason. In a similar amount of minutes per game as the regular season, he upped his points and block percentages, and put together a couple of superb defensive highlights. Collins can be a key postseason player in the modern NBA; he has size and defensive prowess, and also has a consistent jumper.

In this video, Collins shows it all off in just one game — protecting the rim, craftiness inside the paint, and knocking down outside jumpers.

Collins’ biggest hindrance so far has been his inconsistency, and lapses in focus. I remember watching countless games where he would be up to 3 or 4 fouls in no time. While his eagerness to block shots is great, he sometimes chases blocks that aren’t there, and especially with Portland’s slightly thin big man rotation this year, Collins can’t afford to be fouling out so easily. His defensive game currently eclipses his offensive one, but Collins definitely experiences losses of focus more often on the defensive end.

So he’s had some positive moments, and clearly has areas to get better in. But I see Zach Collins in the running for ‘Most Improved Player’, for two reasons. Firstly, his new starting role. Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu are long gone, and Collins will be given the task of taking over the PF position. His minutes will increase, and although I’m confident his numbers will also increase, I see his confidence skyrocketing. Collins has proven he can handle the moment, and I think giving him more responsibility will just make him better.

As well as the starting role, my other reason carries more weight, and couldn’t be simpler. The kid got better. A lot better.

The former Gonzaga big has been hitting these jumpers all preseason, and they’ve never looked smoother. Not only does this type of offense open up a lot of doors for Collins himself, but it also benefits Portland’s guards. Since LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland haven’t really had a starting big who can shoot the ball well — as good as Jusuf Nurkic is, his jumper isn’t respected, and Hassan Whiteside‘s is non-existent. This jumper gives the Blazers an offensive option similar to the one of the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic will set a screen and knock down this sort of shot all day long, and having a big who can do this in Portland, will just make Dame and CJ even more dangerous than they already are.

Collins will have to hold down that starting role all season, and will need to average at least 13-15 points. Portland don’t get a ton of media attention with these sorts of awards (I can already see the media building the Lonzo Ball MIP campaign), but Dame’s presence will him a decent amount of notice. Other leading candidates include Dejounte Murray, Bam Adebayo and Zach LaVine — Collins is sitting way outside at 100/1. It’d take a special season, but that’s how good I think Zach Collins is!