One goal for each Portland Trail Blazers starter for 2021-2022 NBA season

4. Robert Covington – make a return to the All-NBA Defensive teams

Robert Covington is a renowned defender. The Portland Trail Blazers need every single ounce of that infamous defensive effort that he can provide. Covington not only can guard well, he’s also a versatile stopper—capable of covering any perimeter player and some smaller bigs as well.

While he’s still a top-tier defender, his reputation has taken a hit—possibly due to the impossible tasks of having to cover for the weaker defenders on his Houston Rockets and Blazers teams.

In a sense, this will be more of a team achievement. If the Blazers can play adequate team defense, that will allow Covington to focus more on shutting down his individual assignment. If RoCo can make an All-NBA Defensive Team in 2021-2022, it most likely means that Portland as a whole was much better on that end of the floor.

5. Jusuf Nurkic – play 66 regular season games

Jusuf Nurkic has earned the injury prone label after appearing in just under 31 percent of 146 possible games in the last two years. As the cliché states, “the best ability is availability.”

Nurkic’s growth has been stunted by his injuries, but at only 26 years old, he’s got plenty of room left before he reaches his ceiling. Having him on the floor not only makes the Blazers better, but also helps to improve team chemistry and gives him more opportunity to work on his game in real time.

With the Blazers limited depth at center, Portland will need Nurkic to be as available as possible next season. They can’t afford to have him out for an extended period of time, lest they make Cody Zeller a starting center once again or move RoCo to a small-ball center role.

Nurkic’s impact when he’s on the floor cannot be overstated—we saw firsthand how important he was to this team as he struggled with foul trouble against Nikola Jokic in the Blazers first-round series loss these last playoffs. Having him available for 80 percent of the regular season and throughout next year’s playoffs will go a long way to making the Blazers serious contenders.