Portland Trail Blazers: 5 takeaways from 2017 NBA Summer League

1. Injury bug bites Rip City again

I’m not sure what it is about the Portland Trail Blazers that the basketball gods don’t like, but they just seem to be really unlucky.

Greg Oden. Brandon Roy. Hell, we can trace this all the way back to Bill Walton. Just injuries on top of injuries on top of even more injuries. When will it stop?

Though it likely wouldn’t have made much of a difference, losing Jusuf Nurkic shortly before the 2017 postseason dealt an immense blow to Portland’s chances, not to mention the loss of Ed Davis.

Additionally, Allen Crabbe had to have foot surgery this summer, and now Connaughton and Collins are down after playing just three Summer League games a piece. I want to say I’m surprised, but nah.

https://twitter.com/PlayersTribune/status/887019569469988864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blazersedge.com%2F2017%2F7%2F21%2F16011854%2Fcj-mccollum-meyers-leonard-jusuf-nurkic-workout-video

And this year, the West is absolutely stacked. If the Blazers want to see themselves back in the postseason this year, the key will be finding a way to remain healthy.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Otherwise, we can probably expect to see a lot more offseason workout videos from C.J. McCollum this summer — only a lot sooner.