Portland Trail Blazers: 3 big questions heading into 2019-20

2. Are Zach Collins and Rodney Hood ready for increased roles?

Because of the aforementioned subtractions from the 2018 roster, it appears both Zach Collins and Rodney Hood are due for increases in workload in 2019. A former starter, Hood shouldn’t struggle too much with the transition. Averaging 16.8 minutes per game over his first two seasons in the NBA, it remains to be seen if the same is true for Collins.

Both ESPN and CBS Sports list Collins as the team’s starting power forward. A seven-footer with a decent amount of weight to throw around at 235 pounds, Collins has spent the majority of his minutes at the center spot since entering the league in 2017. Averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game a season ago, head coach Terry Stotts will surely expect both of those numbers to increase this year.

Collins averaged 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes last season. If he’s tasked with playing against smaller competition at power forward from this point on, that number may rise even higher. The 21-year-old’s positional transition will be something to keep an eye on this season.

Hood is a 6’8″ wing and a career 12.6 point per game scorer. He can either start or come off the bench, but will likely be doing the former this season at small forward. This will also be a bit of a transition, although Hood has spent a lot more of his minutes at the three over the past few seasons. All-in-all, how Collins and Hood react to seeing their minutes increase could make or break the Trail Blazers’ starting lineup.