The Blazers were stumbling along last February, showing glaring weaknesses in terms of defending and holding leads, and the 2016-17 appeared lost. Then they made a midseason trade for center Jusuf Nurkic and suddenly their playoff outlook changed. They went 13-3 over the final 16 games and had an imposing player on the front line for the first time since LaMarcus Aldridge. Their stay in the playoffs was short, yet the Blazers managed to salvage their season and save face.
ICYMI
After spending millions two summers ago in free agency and contract extensions, the Blazers sat this summer out, fearful of salary cap punishment … The most significant change happened through the draft, with Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan … Clearly, the Blazers see the need for front-line strength next to Nurkic and would like to reduce their reliability on their high-scoring backcourt
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THREE POINTS
1. Can Nurkic stay healthy? He finished last season with a fractured leg and the Blazers suffered. This is a contract year for Nurkic so there are steep incentives to remain in one piece and cash in next summer.
2. After trading the too-pricey Allen Crabbe to the Nets, the Blazers need to replace him by finding a scorer off the bench. Right now that person is a mystery man, as nobody on the current roster has fulfilled that role before.
3. The Blazers ranked 25th in points per game allowed last season (108.5). As much as they mean to Portland’s offense, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are, at best, average defenders. The Blazers need some rim-stoppers to step up.
MAN ON THE SPOT
Evan Turner made a financial splash when he signed for big money in the summer of 2016, but the initial returns were shaky. His jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none game was mostly an awkward fit and he struggled to gain traction in the lineup in his first season in Portland. A career 29.8 percent 3-point shooter who’s more of a point forward, Turner presents challenges for coach Terry Stotts: Where and how do you use him? It’s time the Blazers figured that out.
STARTING FIVE
Damian Lillard | 27.0 ppg | 5.9 apg | 4.9 rpg
For the fifth time in his five-year career his scoring average increased.
CJ McCollum | 23.0 ppg | 3.6 apg | 42.1 3-point pct.
A bonafide NBA scorer whose overall effective FG percentage (54.4) is better than Lillard’s (51.6).
Jusuf Nurkic | 10.2 ppg | 7.2 rpg | 1.9 apg
Averaged 15.2 ppg and 10.4 rpg in his 20 games with the Blazers and changed the team dynamics.
Maurice Harkless | 10.0 ppg | 4.4 rpg | 50.3 FG pct.
An emerging-yet-inconsistent player who’s pushing for increased minutes and role.
Noah Vonleh | 4.4 ppg | 5.2 rpg | 0.4 bpg
Had 19 rebounds in one game, but struggles elsewhere on the floor and remains a project.
KEY RESERVES
Ed Davis | 4.3 ppg | 5.3 rpg | 0.5 bpg
A hard worker with serious limitations offensively was switched to a bench role.
Al-Farouq Aminu | 8.7 ppg | 7.4 rpg | 1.4 apg
One of the better rebounding small forwards can’t dribble or shoot with consistency.
Meyers Leonard | 5.4 ppg | 3.2 rpg | 1.0 apg
A stretch big man who becomes less of a threat once inside the paint.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The ripple effect caused by Nurkic’s arrival last season fueled Portland’s near-overnight transformation into a very respectable playoff contender the last few months. The trick now is to keep that momentum going heading into a new season and for the Blazers to force their way into the middle of the pack of a loaded Western Conference. This is entirely possible if what we saw from Nurkic is real. You need three standout players to gain respect in the NBA, and maybe Portland finally has its third in him.
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here or follow him onTwitter.
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