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Portland Trail Blazers: 5 keys to 2019 Western Conference Finals vs. Warriors

By Ty Delbridge

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 13, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 13, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

3. Zach Collins staying out of foul trouble

Zach Collins grew up before Blazer fans’ eyes and was vital to the team’s final two wins to close out the Nuggets. He played in all seven games, and in those games, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from the 3-point line and 91.7 percent from the free throw line.

Collins has become one of the Blazers’ enforcers when he is on the court and isn’t scared to talk some trash. The big man got into it with the Warriors in the regular season.

His ability to score down low, shoot the mid-range and knock down the 3-point shot is huge for the Blazers, especially in pick-and-pop/pick-and-roll situations. With Jusuf Nurkic out of the lineup, Collins is the teams best rim protector and is an aggressive shot-blocker who is not afraid to challenge anyone in any shooting situation close to the basket. All this is a big boost for the team and is the reason the Blazers drafted him high, but none of it matters if Collins can’t stay out of foul trouble.

In this year’s postseason, Collins is averaging 3.5 personal fouls per game and averaged 4.0 fouls against Denver. When he can stay on the floor, he is an aggressive difference-maker for Portland, and it showed in Game 6 in Portland’s 119-108 win. In that game, Collins played 29 minutes and only had two fouls. He put up 14 points, five blocks, four rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field.

The next game, Collins got into foul trouble early and had to play timid when he did see the court, and it threw off his rhythm. He ended with five fouls, but played most of the fourth quarter without fouling out and still had four blocks in the game.

Against Golden State this round, Collins should see significant minutes. He will be asked to battle with the Warriors’ bigs down low on both ends and needs to able to switch onto their wings and guards out on the perimeter and not get exposed entirely in the pick-and-roll.

Collins has good feet and defensive instinct, he just as a habit of making silly off-the-ball fouls and sometimes challenges a shot when it is unnecessary to do so. Portland has to hope he plays smarter on both ends and keeps his fouls limited because he is going to be asked to play a significant role on both ends and could be the biggest X-factor for the team.