Portland Trail Blazers: 3 goals for Al-Farouq Aminu in 2018-19

1. Average at least 10 points per game

Al-Farouq Aminu did a good job last season of being a consistent glue guy. They don’t need him to be anything more than that. However, his scoring is the one place where he could improve entering the new season.

Aminu averaged 9.3 points per game, the second-highest average of his career. It was also his best since 2015-16 — his first year in Rip City — when he came away with 10.2 points per game. He scored in double-figures 30 times in 2017-18. He has the potential to do it more often, but as discussed in the previous slide, his issues in the mid-range bring down his offensive numbers.

Aminu should aim to average double-digits again this season so that he serves as another offensive outlet for Lillard and McCollum. The Blazers offense was at its worst when the backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum was forced to kick out to inconsistent shooters or figure things out for themselves in isolation.

Plenty of the players on the team will also need to step up, and Aminu certainly isn’t the first in line for offensive touches. However, he is the starting power forward and averaged the third-most minutes on the team (30.6 per game), so having him chip in at least 10 points while spending all that time on the floor will really help to alleviate the pressure put on the team’s star duo.

Al-Farouq Aminu was a solid role player last season, and Portland will need him to do the same in 2018-19. All of his goals this year should be geared towards improving his efficiency and tenacity so that he can help Rip City compete in the Western Conference.