Portland Trail Blazers: 2017-18 player grades for Zach Collins

Highlights

While he wasn’t the focal point of the Trail Blazers’ gameplan, Zach Collins still had his fair share of highlights during his rookie season. His best game came on March 30 when the Blazers hosted the Los Angeles Clippers at Moda Center. Collins came away with a career-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and four assists.

Collins also scored 12 points twice during the season. The better of the two games happened on March 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He connected on five of his six shot attempts, including both his 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds and two blocks to his statline.

Speaking of blocks, he also had a very impressive chasedown block on March 23 when the Blazers hosted the Boston Celtics. Celtics guard Abdel Nader was able to strip Pat Connaughton on a drive to the lane and break out in transition.

With only CJ McCollum to beat to the rim, it looked like a simple Euro-step would give Nader the clear path to the rim. However, Zach Collins trailed the play every step of the way, and managed to time his rejection just right, sending Nader’s layup out of bounds.

Lastly, Collins showed throughout the season that, despite being a rookie, he was a confident player with little fear. That was tested in Game 4 of the Blazers’ first round matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.

As the first half came to a close, Collins corralled a defensive rebound, shoving Pels guard Jrue Holiday in the process. Collins was whistled for the loose ball foul, and Rondo swatted the ball out of his hand.

This led to a dustup between both players, with Rondo putting his head into Collins’ chest and Collins pushing him away. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and both players received technical fouls. However, Collins showed in that small instance that he wasn’t afraid to take players head-on if they messed with him.