Portland Trail Blazers: Assessing Hassan Whiteside’s impact

In the 2019 NBA offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers filled a huge gap in their roster at the center position with Hassan Whiteside.

The Portland Trail Blazers had a gigantic hole in the middle of their lineup before trading for Hassan Whiteside, who will be used by the Blazers to take Jusuf Nurkic’s place while he recovers from a broken leg.

There is exciting potential in Whiteside for a number of reasons.

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Firstly, the 30-year-old is guaranteed to bring a prominent shot blocking presence to the Blazers. This defensive boost has the possibility to lead to excellent overall defense throughout the season.

With an anchor of Whiteside’s caliber in the paint, it takes some pressure off of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum when the opponent starts driving to the basket. Whiteside is known for his shot blocking ability.

He even averaged 2.7 blocks per game in what was considered a down year last season.

Next, is the way Whiteside will fit into the offense. Admittedly, Whiteside is not a prolific scorer. He only averaged 12.3 points per game last season. In comparison with Nurkic (15.6 points per game) this is a slight downgrade.

Whiteside had a field goal percentage of 57.1 percent last season compared to Nurkic’s 50.8 percent. While Whiteside has trouble creating his own shot, he shouldn’t be put into a position where he has to very often.

Lillard and McCollum will undoubtedly be the focus of opposing defenses. This will create open looks for Whiteside, as he will have open shot opportunities close to the basket due to focus on the backcourt. And, as we have seen in the past, he is very efficient from short range.

Blazer fans can expect Whiteside to be a defensive presence and also a big time rebounder. He has a career average of 11.4 rebounds per game. If this trend continues in Portland, Whiteside could provide an efficient rebounding boost.

This especially could help the offense if Whiteside manages to grab offensive rebounds in a productive way. Whiteside’s skillset is poised to help out Portland both offensively and defensively.

His main purpose will be to grab rebounds and block shots. Though he can definitely contribute more on the offensive end through the opportunities presented to him by Lillard and McCollum.

The final reason is the culture surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers.

If any team in the league can make Whiteside turn his career around, it’s the Blazers, a team that developed two guards from Weber State and Lehigh into one of the best backcourts in the league is obviously something special.

Some even forget that Nurkic did not play a prominent role on the Denver Nuggets before he was traded to Portland. After Nurkic realized how much he meant to the fans, he began playing the best basketball of his career.

Feeling wanted by an organization can do wonders for morale and performance. In Miami, Whiteside was competing for playing time with both Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk.

He was also experiencing frustration from the Miami fan base. It is not out of the question that Hassan Whiteside will be exactly what Rip City is looking for at center.