I was surprised to see that only 5 players averaged 2 blocks per game last year. And with him also spending a lot of his time on the perimeter guarding stretch 4's if they start him, I doubt Zach can average 2. Whiteside was tied for 6th at 1.9 per game. And for some of you stats lovers, Whiteside was also listed as #1 in Defensive Rebound Percentage, Total Rebound Percentage, and Defensive Rating.
Zach should benefit from practicing against Whiteside ...bit different from Meyers and Biggie,,,,when Zach is better than Ed Davis....he'll get my attention. He is getting better
I think Zach could win it. He SHOULD benefit from being in the starting line up by being wide open a lot. I think his PPG could easily jump to 15-16ish. Not playing with the bench I think will help him to perform much better and he has shown to be a decent shooter. Also maybe in a better position to get rebounds if whiteside or Nurk are the ones in the PNR.
I think Portland will roll out some of their old Aldridge pick-and-pop offense for Collins to get him a few open touches early in the game. Also a lot of the pick and roll action we ran with Nurk. It's an opportunity that was never given to Zach last year, but as teams continue to double Dame and CJ in the post season I think it's going to be important to give Zach more experience making decisions foul line and extended. Whiteside just isn't the passer Plumlee or Nurkic was, and he's not the "pop" threat that Aldridge was, so I see us using him more as the garbage man under the basket who doesn't get a lot of plays run for him (aka, Robin Lopez). But there just won't be the space near the rim if Zach rolls a lot to the rim. I bet our offense looks a lot like the Dame/Aldridge/Rolo offense, especially when either Dame or CJ sits. Zach won't get anywhere close to Aldridge's 17 shots/night, but I bet it's a lot more than the 5 shots/night he got last year. Assuming he can get a handle on his fouling. That's a big if.
As an aside, barring some type of trade, etc., is it a foregone conclusion that Bazemore will be our starting 3? It'll be interesting to see how he fits into all this new offense.
I don't see it as a foregone conclusion at all. I bet Rodney Hood doesn't either, especially considering he took a pay cut to return. Even Hezonja stands a good chance.
FWIW..... https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest...-re-attached-injury-update-zach-collins-thumb The tendon "recently just re-attached": An injury update on Zach Collins' thumb The NBA offseason is a chance for every player's body to get right. For Trail Blazers center Zach Collins, this summer has been about healing his right thumb that was injured during the postseason versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, while also trying to refine his skills and put on muscle mass. In a recent sit down interview with NBC Sports Northwest in his hometown of Las Vegas, Collins explained how the injury occurred and the progress of his healing. “It was in Game 2 of the first round and I just went up, someone swiped down and just tore the tendon in my thumb, Collins said. "It recently just re-attached after the season and now it’s just about getting it stronger again. It’s progressing really well." While the injury didn't sideline Collins during the Trail Blazers run to the Western Conference Finals, he was forced to wear a wrap to ease any pain and help stabilize the thumb. He continues to sport one even during workouts. Collins has been consulting the Blazers’ hand specialist in Portland, who has been pleased with his progression. He is confident the tendon will heal on its own without surgery. "Luckily, there’s no surgery or anything, so that's good,” Collins added.
I hope he gets his fouling in check. Although it kinda reminds me of the Oden days when Oden would get elbowed in the face and the refs would call a foul on Oden, somehow. Z-Co is pretty decent at going straight up... then getting called for fouls. It's kinda weird, imo.
I find most of his fouls don't come from going straight up, most of them are on the floor, like not being set on screens, or reaching instead of moving his feet. I think his ability to go straight up is pretty good. I may be wrong here, that's just been my observation.
4.6 pf/36 is manageable. Kemp was around that for the first 5 years of his career, and still played 30+ mpg. Just need Stotts to actually let him play through his fouls rather than just yanking him early according to conventional wisdom.
One thing about that is Zach hasn't shown he can avoid picking up another foul a minute later. It seemed like if he got 2 quick fouls and was left in he'd often pick up a 3rd rather quickly. He's got to fix that.
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/...or-coming-nba-season-says-one-nba-writer.html By Tim Brown | The Oregonian/OregonLive Zach Collins is poised for a larger role in Portland with all the turnover on the Trail Blazers’ new-look roster, and at least one NBA scribe believes he could make a big jump to become one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. In his latest story about “The Next Siakams," D.J. Foster of The Ringer highlights Collins at the top of his list of five burgeoning NBA players who could make the jump from promising talent to superstar-level contributor in the 2019-20 season, much like Pascal Siakam did with the Toronto Raptors in 2018-19. Collins, who is eyeing a starting spot with the Blazers this coming season, posted averages of 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and almost 1 block per game last season, but it was in the postseason where Collins showed off the kind of dramatic impact he can have on the court. During the final two games of the Trail Blazers’ seven-game series win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, Collins became a force inside. He tallied 21 points and nine blocks combined in those games while providing the kind of wrinkle Portland needed to edge a very evenly-match Nuggets team. If Collins can build on that momentum and be more consistent with the larger opportunity in front of him, Foster thinks it could mean big things for the Blazers in 2019-20. " ... Collins had shown all the tools to be an effective rim runner and shot blocker as a rookie—good end-to-end speed, soft hands, the ability to track the ball—and, in his rookie season, he even registered the best defensive field goal percentage allowed at the rim (47 percent) of any player who appeared in at least 40 games." “Recently acquired veterans like Hassan Whiteside, Anthony Tolliver, and Pau Gasol will be tempting to play, but the best thing for Portland’s long-term health would be for Collins to grow into the rare mobile 7-footer who can block shots and stretch the floor, no matter whether that time comes at the 4 or the 5. Stotts will have to make concessions while Collins continues to add strength, but they’re worth making for a big who can do so many different things. Portland needs someone other than Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to pop, and Collins is the best bet to do it.” Do you think Collins is worthy of that consideration? With the increase in minutes and opportunity, is Zach Collins really in line to become the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2019-20?
