When thinking of the Portland Trail Blazers, Joel Freeland is certainly not someone who immediately comes to mind. Having said that, he could be exactly what Portland needs to get through the unfortunate injury to the hand of Robin Lopez that will sideline him for what could be up to the next six weeks.
Honestly speaking, Ro-Lo has not exactly come out of the gate hot, so the filling of these high-tops is not too daunting of a task, but it’s paramount to the success of the team for Freeland to provide more than just presence.
Obviously the services required are not that of a scoring nature, but more for defensive stats, shot changing, and to cause an opposing big to pick up fouls around the glass (blocks like the one on Kyle Lowry Tuesday will always be welcomed in warm embrace).
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Over the past three contests, he has managed to rack up 39 boards, and rejected five shot attempts, if this is going to be par for the course, then the situation should be well in hand.
Here is what coach Terry Stotts had to say, via NBA.com, after last Friday’s win over Philly: “Joel has been very consistent. This is the way he earned a spot in the rotation last year. He plays within himself. He plays very hard. He runs the court, he gets rebounds, he kicks them out for extra possessions, he’s really gotten the verticality of going up and contesting shots without necessarily fouling, so he’s just been very consistent.”
Something that stands out to me that will benefit the English-born center most is his pro-active approach on the defensive end, by no means is he the kind of player that expects rebounds to find him, or to slack in a help situation, his awareness and brute strength can only help to become even more integral in both of these areas.
On the other end of the spectrum, a glaring concern more than any other is that Portland is currently vulnerable at the 4/5 due to inefficiency from Thomas Robinson and Meyers Leonard (who is also dealing with a shoulder strain), so any fouls incurred in a rapid manner would be a detriment even to a team ranked first overall in rebounds.
You can’t help but enjoy when someone makes the transition from a serviceable 15 minutes on the court, to a very solid 25+, especially when he is contributing a 17 rebound performance. So far, Joel has hit the ground running, and only time will if this production is sustainable, though, for what it’s worth, nothing is suggesting a complete failure in any regard.
Portland’s next four games are against opponents who do not pose much of a threat in the front-court, making prosperity, very much a possibility.