Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from Game 6 win vs. Nuggets

2. Rodney Hood and Zach Collins filled the gap

Starting forwards Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless have had a rough semifinals, and the struggles continued on Thursday. Harkless finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting, three fouls and a -8 plus/minus in just 16 minutes. Aminu did have seven points, including two 3-pointers. However, he also went 1-of-4 from the free throw line, had two fouls and netted a team-low -9 plus/minus in 17 minutes of play.

With these starters having another long night, the Blazers needed two others players to step up and fill in the gaps. Enter Rodney Hood and Zach Collins.

Hood, already the team’s third-leading scorer in this series, reeled off a playoff career-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He was quick to post up mismatches and had full confidence in his floaters and 3-point shot. It’s no surprise he went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Collins, meanwhile, tied the career-high in points he just set in Game 5 (14) and set a new one in blocks (five). He was full of energy from start to finish. Offensively, that meant he attacked the paint aggressively enough to take five foul shots (making all of them). Defensively, he was the quintessential rim protector against Denver’s bruising bodies. He accomplished this while only picking up two fouls in 29 minutes.

The playoffs put the spotlight on players, and it’s up to them to step up or fold. For Rodney Hood and Zach Collins, they truly came into their own in this game.