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Time To Put On Your Big-Boy Pants: Portland’s Young’uns Are Key To Playoffs

By Chris Kirby

Jan 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) has his shot blocked by Portland Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard (11) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Trail Blazers 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) has his shot blocked by Portland Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard (11) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Trail Blazers 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Portland Trail Blazers were considered a contender in the Western Conference for the majority of the season, but those expectations took a huge hit when they lost Wesley Matthews to a season-ending Achilles injury on March 6.

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They have won only 10 of their 21 games since that devastating blow and they could be in danger of losing in the first round of the playoffs, despite the fact that they won their first outright division title since 1999.

If the Blazers are going to make a deep run in this year’s postseason, they will need huge contributions from the younger, unheralded players on their roster – namely C.J. McCollum and Meyers Leonard.

The two youngsters are former lottery picks (Leonard 11th overall in 2012; McCollum 10th overall in 2013) that came to Portland with high expectations during the past three years. Both players have struggled to find their roles at times, but they seem to be hitting their stride as the Blazers head into the postseason.

Their rise to useful rotations players comes at the perfect time for this snake-bitten franchise. The Trail Blazers have been piling up injuries at such an alarming rate, the team may want to see if Damon Stoudamire is willing to make one last run with the squad.

Leonard and superstar teammate Damian Lillard came to Portland during the 2011 NBA Draft. While Lillard blossomed into an All-Star caliber player overnight, Leonard was labeled as soft and uninterested over his first two seasons in the league.

There were expectations of him becoming an NBA center to play alongside franchise icon LaMarcus Aldridge, but he was actually playing out of position at the beginning of his career. He was never a physical inside presence, and he never will be — he is an athletic big man who can stretch defenses with his outside touch.

Now that Leonard has transitioned to his natural forward position, he has blossomed into an extremely efficient player. He is averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from long-range in a reserve role. Surprisingly, he is shooting 93.5 percent from the free-throw line this season – an incredible percentage for a post player.

He is a knock-down corner three-point threat (60.0 percent), but he has attempted only 25 shots from that part of the floor. He has become one of the best shooting 7-footers in the entire NBA, and he has only scratched the surface of his potential.

If he can continue stick open shots in head coach Terry Stotts “flow” offense, he will eventually stick a dagger in the heart of a playoff opponent.

Wesley  Matthews is the player that was supposed to be lighting opposing teams up from three-point range, but things don’t always go according to plan. After his injury, Arron Afflalo was the next man up, but he recently suffered shoulder injury of his own that will keep him out until the end of the month.

Suddenly, McCollum will now be thrust into the role of the starting 2-guard, and if he suffers, it could spell the end for the Blazers season. Luckily for Blazer fans, he is beginning to show a little bit of life after struggling for the majority of his first two years.

After the success of Lillard (from Weber State University), it appeared that Portland tried to hit the small-school prospect lottery two years in a row. McCollum came from Lehigh University with the reputation of being a NBA-ready scoring machine. Unfortunately, he struggled to find a place on the team after sustaining an injury that kept him out for the first couple months of his career.

He has shown flashes of becoming a legitimate scorer, but he has been incredibly inconsistent, too hesitant and he is small for his position (6’3”).

However, since Matthews had to take a seat, McCollum has stepped his game up and he has become a useful piece of the puzzle. Over the past 21 games, he has averaged 10.9 points per-game, while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from distance.

The game seems to be slowing down for him and he is making smarter decisions, which could bode well for the Blazers if Afflalo doesn’t return as scheduled.

While both players have been playing well offensively, Portland’s weakness heading into the playoffs is its defense. The Blazers were a top-10 defensive unit while Matthews was roaming the perimeter, but since that fateful injury, they have given up 102.3 points per-game (20th in the NBA).

Matthews has always been one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA since he entered the league in 2009, and he is arguably the best defender on Portland’s roster. The team has struggled defending the three-point shot in his absence, allowing opponents to shoot 39.0 percent from long-range.

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    • While McCollum has been much better offensively, he is still a work in progress on defense. While Wes has been on crutches, 3J McCollum has been giving long-range shots up at a larger clip (40.5 percent) than he’s been making them. He is going to have to grab his big-boy pants and man up on defense if he wants to make an impact over the upcoming playoff run.

    The NBA game slows down in postseason and every possession counts. Defense will ultimately be the key to winning games, and if you let teams expose from downtown, you won’t make it anywhere.

    On the other hand, Leonard has been a reliable defender on all areas of the floor. We all know he is a forward and he won’t be asked to defend guards, but he has been a lockdown three-point defender (28.8 percent) against his matchups this season. He should be able to limit any opportunities that other stretch forwards receive from outside the paint.

    Most people think that the Portland Trail Blazers start and end with LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, but that isn’t the case. It takes a complete team to make noise in the playoffs and everyone will have to contribute if the team is going to make a serious run towards a Larry O’Brien Trophy.

    Depth is legitimate concern at this point (Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Chris Kaman are all banged up, while Dorell Wright is out until next month), so they are going to need contributions from wherever they can get them. If Meyers  Leonard and C.J.  McCollum can stay level-headed and play their games, this team will make a much larger impact than most fans are giving them credit for.

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