Number 3 – CJ McCollum
CJ McCollum is still one of the most important regular-season players for this team. Now firmly in his prime at 29, McCollum needs to have one of his best NBA seasons for the Blazers to put themselves into home-court territory for the playoffs.
He had a slight dip in efficiency in the 2020 season, but with extra volume on his shoulders with the significant injury toll, this was expected. McCollum will have more spacing to operate with in the 2021 season, and he should be able to get his fair share of open looks and isolation opportunities.
McCollum’s strengths are his endless counter moves and off the dribble creation. He is more important at the end of games and in the playoffs when each possession counts more. There are very few players who can get you a bucket in as many different ways as McCollum can.
After injuries hurt his play at the end of 2020, CJ will be looking to have his best NBA season to date.
Number 2 – Jusuf Nurkic
After Dame, Jusuf Nurkic is the most important Blazer in terms of production and regular-season success. In the 2020 seeding games, Nurk had no match fitness but was able to roll straight into NBA competition and put up some absurd stat lines.
He is the glue that binds this team on both ends, and now that he is paired with excellent two-way talent, we may be poised to see Nurk’s best season as well.
It’s easy to forget that Nurk is just 26, but the Bosnian fan favorite has played just 318 games in the NBA.
Defensively, he will set the tone at the rim with his excellent hands and impeccable positioning, while on offense, he will have cutters that suit his passing ability in Jones Jr and Giles.
Pairing Nurk with stretch fours and defensive guys gives him the best chance to succeed. With the floor spaced and shooting threats all around, he can overwhelm a lot of NBA centers with his massive 270-pound frame.
This is down significantly from around 290 pounds before his 2019 injury, though. Nurk is just as strong but is now more mobile, and fans will remember that we saw a slight lift in his blocked shots and rim finishing in the bubble seeding games.
He also flashed some shooting range from three. Nurk has always had nice shooting form, but if he stretches it out to three consistently, you will be looking at an All-Star center.
Number 1 – Damian Lillard
Other fanbases in the NBA were put on notice in the 2020 season when Damian Lillard went supernova with 50 and 60 point games throughout the year.
He had his best NBA season by far in 2020 and set career highs in almost every category. There are very few players who go to the next level in their careers at age 30, but Dame has set a new standard for himself.
Amping up his three-point volume while also shooting 40 percent from there was the biggest difference in his game last season. A lot of the mid-range shots were gone, and we saw the rim and three-point land maximize Dame’s talents. The magical mark of 30 points per game ensued.
If Dame can replicate this newfound efficiency on a team with a near 50-win pace, we could be seeing an MVP in Rip City.
This Blazers team is blessed with offensive and defensive threats up and down the roster; with this type of depth, this could be the best Blazers season in 20 years.