Assessing Portland Trail Blazers strengths and weaknesses in NBA bubble

Strengths

Rim protection

The Blazers may have the most depth of the teams in the NBA bubble when it comes to rim protection. By alternating Nurkic and Collins at the four, and then those two alternating with Hassan Whiteside at center, they will have 48 total minutes of reliable rim protection at those positions if need be.

Though Whiteside is a one-dimensional defender, there is no doubt he is a great shot blocker. One of the issues he had in the regular season was when he chased a block and didn’t have another decent-sized forward next to him, the opposition had an easy layup or kick out three as the Blazers were unable to get the rebound.

With Collins or Nurkic alongside him, inside defense should now be a real strength for this team. Nurkic has excellent defensive positioning while being great at boxing out too. He isn’t the athlete Whiteside is, but he has better positioning and is just as strong in the paint. Nurkic has excellent hands also, and is an excellent post defender.

Collins is a developing defender too. He had issues with fouling too much in his first few years, but reports from within the Blazers camp talked about how he had worked hard on his body and his mental approach also. He seems to have matured a lot in the difficult nine months away from the court. This will help him on both ends.

Though we are unsure what his role will be, the development of Wenyen Gabriel has been great too. He is a bouncy athlete who can protect the rim well and has great energy.

Guard play

There isn’t a better backcourt in the NBA bubble than Dame and CJ. They can both score in many different ways, while also being excellent passers. With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson not in playoff contention this season, Dame and CJ have taken the mantle of the best NBA backcourt.

Dame has had his best NBA season, registering career highs in almost every statistical category, while also leading the league in minutes. He is made for the big moments and will hope to push his team into the eight-seed in Orlando. The time off has been good for Dame, some foot soreness in the last little while, a sign that he needed rest.

CJ’s game is built for knockout and playoff situations. When playoff basketball slows right down, and you need someone to get you a bucket, this is where CJ is in his element. Efficiency doesn’t matter as much when you get into situations like this. CJ has endless moves and counters, and as shown by his shots down the stretch in playoff games last year, he can step up in the biggest moments.

Though the young pairing of Trent and Anfernee Simons haven’t shown what they can do in pressure cooker situations like the playoffs or a play-in tournament, they both have the shot creation to help this team if called on.

This Blazers team has a fascinating roster with the ability to use different lineups depending on the matchup. Though they are quite one-dimensional defensively, they will surprise some teams with the recent additions making them a different beast than they were in the regular season.