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Rodney Hood has been the star of the Portland Trail Blazers bench in this beautiful and grueling battle against the Denver Nuggets, and he deserves all public attention.
He scores an average of 16 points out of 60% (!) Of shooting, and brutalizes the undersized guard that the Nuggets throw at him – so much so that Denver for a segment of match 6 has dropped Paul Millsap on Hood and one more wing. small on Evan Turner. The Nuggets may want to try again in Game 7.
Hood stupid in the post. He is averaging 1.37 points per playoff isolation, second behind Marcus Morris among players who have recorded at least 15 of these games, per second of spectrum. He rose to the challenge of defending Jamal Murray.
Swapping Hood vs. Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu – 7 out of 30 combined since the deepest of this series – increased Portland's shooting quotient without compromising his defense. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who handle traps at every turn, have more space to breathe with Hood on the ground. He punished Denver for being dragged to help in central Portland action:
It was a wonderful story. Hood succumbed under the pressure of Gordon Hayward's replacement in Utah and disintegrated playing with Cleveland's LeBron James on the biggest stages of the match. He has rediscovered his game and confidence in the midst of Portland's healthy culture. With one of Lillard and McCollum still on the ground, Hood can focus on what comes naturally to him (score) instead of what has always seemed a bit out of his wheelhouse (committing a crime).
Neil Olshey, chief executive of Portland, seizes Hood for Wade Baldwin, Nik Stauskas, and two future round two picks on the afternoon of the Super Bowl Sunday – four days before the trade deadline – barely registered, but the Blazers will not play in game 7 without this case.
Hood benefited from a bench aid in the form of a reserve that assumed a much longer importance for Portland: Zach Collins, the big upset and roaring man who spent time both against the front and back the center against Denver and flourished in both roles. Olshey swapped choices 15 and 20 (Justin Jackson and Harry Giles III) in the 2017 draft in Sacramento to move on to Collins' selection with the 10th pick.
Some insiders have nicknamed the move a litter – some double all The big day draft draw for a great man is within reach as the league evolves into guards and wings – and Donovan Mitchell has taken three places later. But the Blazers had no urgent need for Mitchell with Lillard and McCollum on board. Portland bet that Collins would be in touch with their star guards before they go out of their bonuses, and this bet is beginning to bear fruit.
Denver dominated the Blazers by 22 points in 113 minutes with Hood and Collins on the ground, as reported on NBA.com. They played mainly in bench and McCollum formations that generally won the second and fourth quarter starts. Denver fought back with queues featuring Millsap as the only starter, but these groups were a disaster despite Millsap's best efforts for "adults in the room".
Turner, who works as a small forward, faces Millsap at the post since the fourth game, after Millsap intimidated him in the first part of the series. Collins took the Millsap task for two possessions in Game 6, leaving Turner in the custody of Mason Plumlee; the Blazers may want to revisit this setup if Millsap launches into a seventh game groove. Giving the ball to Plumlee in the post against Turner is a win for the Blazers. Small children should avoid the eyes during plumlee's laborious post-ups.
One of the teams has more than 48 minutes of his season. These clashes between schools become even more difficult on Sunday. Expect both coaches to handle them more urgently. Murray started the fourth quarter of Game 6 alongside Millsap – a second starter to reinforce the crowd on the bench – and Michael Malone may want to have one among Murray and Gary Harris (a solid series) at any one time. – or die the game
Malone will surely be far from Nikola Jokic, and he has already spent 65 absurd minutes in an epic match of this series. Portland hesitated to match Collins and Jokic in center-center minutes. Jokic can crush Collins in the post, though Collins thwarted him in a late face-to-face attack in Game 6 and a charge about a minute later on one of those scrumptious Jokic pick and roll. reversed. Doubling Jokic unlocks only his passing game. Collins is vulnerable on the defensive glass. He always fills. Keep an eye on the minutes of the chess match.
Fortunately Collins can also play alongside Enes Kanter – and defend the power of Denver. Portland is over-15 in Collins-Kanter 31 minutes against the Nuggets, by NBA.com. Millsap only shot 1 in 11 when paired with Collins, according to Second Spectrum.
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A lot of the Portland games against the best competition is whether Aminu and Harkless make an open 3. If they are missing early, Collins has clearly pleaded in favor of usurping additional minutes to Power Forward. He and Hood played four minutes of the sixth game in place of the Harkless / Aminu duo alongside the three other starters from Portland – Lillard, McCollum and tough guy Kanter. This group of five men is plus-6 in nine minutes total for the series. Can we see him again on Sunday?
Collins has the fuzzy contours of a big modern who can protect the rim, shoot 3 times, post guards on switches and just do enough dribbling to hurt you. (Witness his Eurostep float in the fifth game, when Denver trapped Lillard in the pick-and-roll and let Collins sneak into a clear space.) These outlines were a bit accentuated during these playoffs.
Collins is 4 -12 of 12 of the deepest playoffs, and seemed comfortable sneaking over the break. His pick-and-pop treble is not polite enough to punish Jokic when they're paired, but he manages it. (Kanter – at least the healthy version – could possibly control Plumlee in the post when the double center liners will face each other.) Collins makes an explosive roll to the basket, with a good set of feet at start and stop ; he makes sure that a pocket ticket is always available for Lillard and McCollum.
In defense, Collins was a threat to protect the basket; The opponents only shot 46% in the restricted area in the playoffs. Collins is nearby, making him the eighth pick among 48 players who have played at least four of those strikes per game. He showed that he was able to think almost in tune with the adverse offense and arrive early in the position of help – before they expected him there. .
Collins is listed at 7 feet. The guys who grow up with his skill project as centers of stretching, but part of their value lies in the fact that they are malleable enough to play next to almost every partner in the front zone. If Collins refines his 3-point shot, he will provide enough space in Portland to fit a traditional center – Kanter now, Jusuf Nurkic once he's recovering from that leg injury – next to him.
It is fast enough to keep most traditional forces ahead. He did not leave his element to switch to Murray if necessary. Against the formidable pick-and-roll Murray-Jokic, Collins has managed to slip on Murray and return to Jokic without giving up anything.
Find everything you need to know about the playoffs here.
League executives created a board game that would cripple the 2019-2020 Western Conference in the event Kevin Durant leaves Golden State. The Warriors made a loud statement about this board game by playing Houston in the playoffs, again Friday night without Durant. As always, Portland is neglected in this discussion. There is a feeling that these Blazers have reached their peak and that the duo Lillard / McCollum will always struggle to fight the bad match for the playoffs.
May be. But Lillard and McCollum – 28 and 27, respectively – are squarely in their prime numbers. They are good, they are bad and they will cook you. As long as they are in Portland, there will be very few easy nights against the Blazers.
Nurkic is only 24 years old and has had a career year before his injury. For most of the season, he was Portland's second-best player – the best striker, and defensive on defense and glass. (The clever creation of McCollum probably surpasses him over Nurkic in series, but Nurkic was impressive this season. He would have received the attention of the stars in the east.)
The front spots are big questions; Aminu is a sneaky free agent this summer, a cornerstone of Portland's culture and defense, and the Blazers, who are a last resort, have limited means to replace him if he leaves. .
Collins' jump would change so much on Portland's short and long-term trajectory. In the immediate future, he will be able to continue to alternate between the two important positions – filling part of the power gap while maintaining his natural position when Nurkic is resting. If you zoom out, Collins Popping will open up many exciting business opportunities if a decisive deal changes the game.
But it's a discussion for another day. These teams have a 7 game to play. Regardless of the outcome, the season was a success for both. Collins' strength should make Portland fans even more optimistic about the franchise's long-term prospects.
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