Who has been the Portland Trail Blazers’ X-factor this season?

The Portland Trail Blazers have won eight games in a row, have a record of 39-26, and are currently the third seed in the Western Conference. The stars of the Blazers have been fantastic but who has been the team’s X-factor?

An X-factor is defined as: “A circumstance, quality or person that has a strong but unpredictable influence” That strong, influential but sometimes unpredictable person for the Portland Trail Blazers this season has been none other than Al-Farouq Aminu.

Aminu is playing in his seventh season in the NBA, and his third with the Trail Blazers. This season he is averaging 9.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from the 3-point line.

Aminu is 6’9″, with super long arms. He can play both forward positions, defend multiple positions and can even play some small-ball center. He matches up with guys like Blake Griffin, Al Horford, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Karl-Anthony Towns.

At the start of his career, Aminu was just a slasher and defender. Since coming to the Blazers, he has added the 3-point shot to his arsenal to make him a solid 3-and-D player.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes Aminu so valuable for this Trail Blazers team.