Injuries have forced the Portland Trail Blazers to hand minutes to a number of young players this year. Are any of them worth keeping around?
Hands up who predicted the Portland Trail Blazers would be chasing the 8 seed with Caleb Swanigan, Wenyen Gabriel and Mario Hezonja running the second unit? No one? Nah, me either.
It’s been a strange year for the Blazers. Zach Collins, Rodney Hood and Jusuf Nurkic have all missed most or all of the season, and now Damian Lillard is stuck on the sidelines, as he continues his recovery from a groin problem. These injuries have been the story of Portland’s season, and the main reason they’ve struggled so much.
But while the injuries have been difficult, they have given us the chance to see some of the younger players on the Blazers roster in action. Gary Trent Jr’s stock has shot up, Anfernee Simons‘s has gone the other way, and Nassir Little‘s steady improvement (the jump-shot in particular) has been pleasant to watch unfold.
But the injuries have been so severe, that Portland’s fringe players have seen significant minutes. Gabriel and Swanigan are now regular factors off the bench, and we’ve even seen spurts from Jaylen Hoard and Moses Brown, who have had to be flown in on the regular to account for the slim roster.
So the question is, have these fringe players done enough, and which ones deserve to be brought back next season?