Portland Trail Blazers: Zach Collins will give team a push when season restarts
The Portland Trail Blazers will get a shot in the arm with Zach Collins’ return
When the Portland Trail Blazers enter the Orlando bubble next month to resume the 2019-20 NBA season, they’re going to look like a much different team than we last saw them. The Blazers will have eight games and potentially a playoff play-in tournament to unseat the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Not only will the Blazers get a shot in the arm with the return of Jusuf Nurkic, who hasn’t played a game with the Blazers since March of the 2018-19 season, but they’ll also enjoy the return of Zach Collins who injured his shoulder at the start of the season.
Collins told The Oregonian that he’s been cleared to return and is excited to get back on the floor for the Blazers. In essence, it’s as if the Blazers will be getting a brand new frontcourt, to go along with Hassan Whiteside who was enjoying a good season before the hiatus as well.
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Even if Nurkic and Collins aren’t up to speed conditioning-wise (then again, which NBA players will be after more than four months away from live-action), the Blazers will get much-needed depth. This is a team that struggled in that department in the frontcourt, which will definitely come in handy especially considering most NBA players will need time to get back up to playing shape.
During the three games before his injury, Collins averaged nine points, four rebounds, and two assists per game on 47 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Nurkic, who will also be making his return to the team for the first time in more than a calendar year, averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists per game on 51 percent shooting from the field during his last full season.
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Between the two, the Blazers will be returning a starting-caliber frontcourt to their rotation when the season restarts. Count Portland out at your own risk. This is a team that could potentially get hot and make a run in a non-homecourt NBA playoff set up.