2. CJ McCollum – record 420+ assists
CJ McCollum will once again have to act as a defacto playmaker for the Portland Trail Blazers bench. The team lacks a true facilitator outside of Damian Lillard, and the reserve unit will need a table-setter to create offense for their shooters and finishers.
Last season, McCollum averaged a career-high 4.7 assists per game filling that role. Without Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony to help find buckets off the bounce, CJ will have to step up his playmaking if the Blazers are to be taken seriously.
420 assists would amount to six assists a night over 70 games played. This is a very attainable goal for CJ, who averaged 8.3 assists in the eight games Lillard missed in 2018-2019, and will go a long way towards making the Blazers bench championship-caliber.
3. Norman Powell – average 20+ points per game
I would expect either CJ McCollum or Norman Powell to fill in as basically the sixth man for the Blazers and help to create offense for the bench mob. The role should be filled by CJ, leaving Norm more time to run amuck with the starting lineup.
With CJ playing more with the bench than the starters, Powell will be expected to provide a lot of scoring while McCollum rides the pine. His career high came last year as he averaged 18.6 points per game. That is accounting for his time with the Toronto Raptors however, as he only put up 17 a night with the Blazers.
Next season, I would expect an uptick in the scoring column for Norm, as he’ll be expected to be the second option on the floor for a lot of his playing time. As CJ transitions into more of a facilitator role, Norm will have to become the second leading scorer for Portland.
McCollum has scored 20+ points per game every season since his third year in the league. This should be an easy milestone for Powell with the increased opportunity and will make it easier for Head Coach Chauncey Billups to turn CJ into a more natural playmaker.