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Portland Trail Blazers: Player grades from two game road trip in Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TX - OCTOBER 28: Rodney Hood #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs on October 28, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photos by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - OCTOBER 28: Rodney Hood #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the San Antonio Spurs on October 28, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photos by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Portland Trail Blazers split their pair of games on the road in Texas, here are their individual player grades from the action in the Lone Star State.

As the road trip continues, the Portland Trail Blazers took on both the Dallas Mavericks and  San Antonio Spurs on consecutive nights in Texas.

After beating the Sacramento Kings, the Blazers were looking to build off their positive momentum. They would succeed in Dallas, but the loss of Zach Collins in the following game in San Antonio would prove to be too much as Portland would lose after failing to nail a last-second shot.

Read along as Rip City Project takes a deeper look at the action and assigns player grades based off their individual performances.

Damian Lillard‘s box score averages in Texas are quite impressive, but also a little deceptive. Lillard had a rough time shooting in the Lone Star State, only going 19-for-48 (39.6 percent) from the field and 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc. That being said, Lillard’s presence alone was enough to positively impact these games as he repeatedly created good shot opportunities for his teammates as opposing defenses gravitated toward the superstar point guard. And when it counted most, Dame turned on the jets and nearly pulled the Blazers over the Spurs if not for an ill-fated encounter with physics.

CJ McCollum finally proved he can be the player the Blazers need — a guy who can take over whenever Dame’s shots aren’t falling and genuinely lead the team to victory. He did just that against the Mavericks, dropping 35 points on a very efficient 13-for-26 from the field and nailing all eight of his free throw attempts. He matched rising star Luka Doncic punch for punch and then some, ensuring the Blazers would pick up their second consecutive victory on this lengthy five game road trip.

Hassan Whiteside surprised when he came out firing for a combined 38 points in his first two games of the season. He was brought in mainly for his defensive and rebounding presence, but showed he can also contribute on that end as well. Unfortunately, his hot streak didn’t carry into Texas, as he only took 13 total shots and scored an average of 7 points in each game. However, fouling out against the Mavericks and needing to run-and-gun to catch up to the Spurs limited his opportunities. He should rebound soon, after all, it is his specialty.

As a shooter first and foremost, Anthony Tolliver has been struggling to find his place when his shot isn’t falling. He has taken eight shot attempts this season (all from 3-point range), only getting one to fall. Tolliver has been repeatedly abused on defense and on the boards. This was most apparent during their game against Dallas, where Tolliver posted a Plus/Minus of -15 in just three minutes. Just three games in, many Blazers fans had already seen enough of the 34-year-old sharpshooter.

San Antonio was a different story however. Tolliver led the team in rebounds and Plus/Minus. He did the little things well, from grabbing a steal, to taking a big charge. While he isn’t an ideal starter in place of the injured Zach Collins, he can still be a quality rotation player if he builds off of this momentum.

Kent Bazemore has been one of the biggest peasant surprises thus far for the Portland Trail Blazers. His energy and hustle has been uplifted the defensive unit despite lacking talented personnel next to him. Bazemore has already accumulated five steals and blocks each in his four games with Portland. Who could forget this monster block against San Antonio last night? However, Bazemore had a rough go shooting in Texas, only hitting 5-of-17 attempts from the field. Let’s hope we works out those kinks moving forward.

Across two electric performances, Rodney Hood put on a show north of the Rio Grande. Hood scored 20 points and reeled in 6 rebounds against the Mavericks, providing the third scoring option Portland needs to overcome the league’s best teams. Across both games, he shot 11-for-19 from the field and hit over half of his 3-point attempts. Lillard and McCollum did an excellent job setting the table for Hood and allowing him to eat.

If Hood could maintain this efficiency over the course of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers would take a non-negligible step towards becoming true title contenders.