Portland Trail Blazers: 5 keys to series vs. Thunder

4. Blazers big men stepping up

If Jusuf Nurkic were healthy and playing in this matchup against OKC, the Blazers would probably have no issue getting past the Thunder and on to the second round.

Before he went down at home against the Brooklyn Nets, Nurkic was averaging 15.6 points,10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 77.3 percent from the free throw line.

He was dominant down low and was fantastic at passing the ball and almost running the offense for the Blazers. His rim protecting will also be missed because he is a seven footer who weighs 275 pounds and does not get pushed around.

So it is no question that Portland will miss Nurkic against the Thunder, but luckily they have three big men who were playing behind Nurkic that all bring something different to the table. The Trail Blazers will need all three players to be at their best if they want to advance.

Enes Kanter can mimic what Nurkic did on offense in some ways. He is an excellent low post scorer, can knock down mid rangers, hits free throws and grabs offensive rebounds. His defense is a huge weakness and the Thunder know this and will look to exploit him whenever he is playing.

Zach Collins is now the best rim protector the Blazers have. He will be asked to do a lot against the Thunder. Collins will have an issue when guarding the much larger Steven Adams on defense but on offense he can space the floor with his shooting and hurt OKC in pick-and-pop situations.

He is an aggressive player and brings a similar fire and passion that Nurkic was known to play with. The former 10th overall pick will need to show why he was worth the pick.

Meyers Leonard has a chance to shut all his haters up with a meaningful playoff series. He will need to be an offensive weapon, physical rebounder on both ends and needs to be able to bang with the Thunder bigs.

Leonard is another scrappy player who plays with a fire and can get on other team’s nerves. In an emotional playoff matchup, that might be what the Blazers need to try and get the Thunder rattled.

We saw what Nurkic was able to do to Westbrook and George last time these two teams met.