Portland Trail Blazers: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18
Strength: 3-point shooting
The trade that sent Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn signaled the departure of the NBA’s second-best 3-point shooter. Losing someone that shot 44.4 percent from outside is certainly a sizable loss. However, due to the number of good shooters that remain, Portland’ perimeter attack has not been compromised.
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Even with Crabbe gone, Portland has four other players that shot at least 90 3-pointers at a rate of 35.0 percent or better. McCollum leads the pack, shooting 42.1 percent on 439 total attempts. Lillard is behind him at 37.0 percent on 579 attempts. Shabazz Napier also shot 37.0 percent, but on 92 attempts. Maurice Harkless shot 35.1 percent from three on 194 attempts.
Beyond them, there is also Meyers Leonard. Despite a rough season, he still shot 34.7 percent from outside on 213 attempts. Also, both rookies exhibited some floor-stretching abilities in college. Caleb Swanigan put up 85 3-point attempts at Purdue, converting on 44.7 percent of them. Zach Collins only attempted 21 at Gonzaga, but still knocked down 47.5 percent of those shots.
Allen Crabbe was a great asset to have on the perimeter. However, he had deficiencies in other areas as well as an expensive contract. That made him trade fodder when the right deal presented itself. His production will be missed, but Portland possesses enough sharpshooters to shoulder the load.