Portland Trail Blazers: 3 reasons to be excited about second-round pick CJ Elleby

No. 3: Elleby has 3-and-D potential, but with extra layers

This will piggyback off that last point, and go a bit more in-depth. Last season, CJ Elleby had 153 catch-and-shoot attempts according to Synergy. He hit on 38 percent of those.

Assuming he does share for the floor with the second-unit for stretches, methinks he will be able to hit at a similar clip at the professional level.

That will probably be Elleby’s calling card, at least for his first few years in the Association. But there’s a certain level of grit and “nastiness” to his game that could make him one of Terry Stotts’ guys late in the season if health doesn’t hold up.

He’s shown willingness to get on the glass, both offensively and defensively, despite being 6-foot-6 and having a 6-foot-7 wingspan. He was the No. 2 scorer and rebounder in the PAC-12 as a freshman, and took a few steps forward in Year Two.

According to Hoop Math, Elleby produced a team-high 18 putbacks on the season, putting those in at a 61.5 percent success rate. Pair his active hands and proclivity for steals (he led the PAC-12 in steals) that got the Cougars into the open floor often, and you could have a multifaceted player in the coming years.

This is especially beneficial with how much of a struggle the Portland Trail Blazers have had with rebounding.

Once a great strength, the Blazers have fallen from the top-shelf among the top rebounding teams. Only five teams in the NBA got fewer rebounds from the forward position. Forcing missed shots is one way to ramp that up, and Elleby’s tenacity could benefit the cause.

Based on the studying on Elleby’s game that I have seen, it seems that the player he was as a Cougar could be a bit different from what he will be as a Portland Trail Blazers player.

Elleby had smooth transitions out of the triple-threat, and could go from one quick dribble combination into a clean shot. As Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre might say … “It ain’t ‘nuthin but a CJ thing, baby.” He won’t have to do too much of that right away, but it will be among the many skills to fine-tune as he develops.

Everything considered, Elleby looks like the type of player who seethes to get better, and put tons on tape from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

He’s got Hall of Fame talent on his team that he can pick up nuggets from during his elevation. The Portland Trail Blazers, if nothing else, certainly know how to keep the fanbase excited.