Portland Trail Blazers: 5 Things That Will Help Clinch 8th Seed

3. Portland’s Big Three Has To Keep Producing

Heading into February, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum had spent a season and a half being the guys that make the Blazers offense go. From the beginning of the 2015-16 regular season through Feb 13, Lillard and McCollum combined to score 42.2 percent of Portland’s total points.

While both players proved to be dynamic scorers, this setup had its limitations. When either player was shut down by a clever defensive scheme or lockdown defender, it would force the other take over.

Without any other reliable scorers to turn to, that would eventually stifle Portland’s offense, turning the tables in their opponents’ favor.

Portland Trail Blazers

The acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic has paid dividends for the Trail Blazers. First and foremost, he fills Portland’s need for an aggressive inside scorer to contrast with Lillard and McCollum’s perimeter game.

Nurkic’s ability to excel in the pick-and-roll, his above-average post skills, and his willingness to score has opened up a new dimension on offense. Now opponents must honor him.

They now know that if they focus on the backcourt stars too much, Nurkic will be open underneath for an easy two points.

When one player is being contained, the other two seem to have big games. For instance, when the Nuggets held Lillard to 19 points on Tuesday, McCollum scored 39 points while Nurkic went for a career-high of 33.

Then, on Thursday, Damian Lillard was able to score 31 points while Nurkic added 19 and McCollum was held to 12.

Portland must continue to embrace this new trio. Since Nurkic’s first game as a Blazer on Feb 15, the Big Three has scored 60.1 percent of Portland’s total points. As Lillard, McCollum, and Nurkic continue to gel, they become more of a problem for opposing defenses.