Toumani Camara is in the midst of a late-season offensive outburst. This volume (he's making over five 3-pointers per game in his last 12 outings) won't last forever because I don't think Camara has suddenly turned into Steph Curry, unfortunately, but it's been a blast to watch nonetheless. It's also causing Blazers fans to ponder just what Camara's offensive ceiling is — is it floor-spacing wing, or could it be something more?
Within Camara's statistical profile, there are some numbers that, in a roundabout way, are encouraging for anyone who thinks Camara can be a higher-volume offensive weapon for the Blazers. For instance, each season in the league, Camara has improved as a rim finisher (shots from 0-3 feet from the basket) but his volume from in close has fallen in accordance with his volume overall. In other words, he is becoming more dangerous at the rim, but getting there less.
Whoever is occupying the sidelines for the Blazers next season — whether Tiago Splitter gets the full-time job or Tom Dundon gets someone new for the job — should make a concerted effort to let Toumani Camara exist within the arc a little more. At 6-foot-7, 230 pounds and with clear finishing upside, there's no reason Toumani Camara should be shooting just 1.7 free throws per game.
How much of Toumani Camara's hot streak should you believe?
"I don't know if I've ever seen him act like this before," said Blazers' TV analyst Lamar Hurd after one of Camara's eight 3-pointers against Denver earlier this week.
He's right. Camara has established himself as a capable 3-point shooter the past two seasons, but the volume and accuracy he's showing as of late is new for him. And while fans shouldn't expect him to be a 20 point per game scorer next year, I do think Damian Lillard's reentry into the lineup will do Toumani some good. This has been one of the worst passing teams in the league this season, and that mitigates what Camara — who isn't often going to create off the dribble — can accomplish.
In the Blazers' loss against the Spurs on Wednesday, ESPN analyst Tim Leger praised Camara for being a real part of the Blazers offense, improving from a guy who is sort of just there into a real weapon. The next step is for him to find more comfort attacking the hoop, something that he's shown he might be able to incorporate into his game. An attacking Camara who continues to get more comfortable shooting 3s at a high volume is a pretty dangerous offensive player.