Portland Trail Blazers: 5 players who need a big final stretch after hiatus

Gary Trent Jr.

The player from the bench who stepped up when Lillard was injured was Gary Trent Jr. He had four games over 15 points, this is not bad considering his season average is 7.7 points per game. In fact, Trent has 17 games where he has scored more than 10 points in a game this season.

Trent has taken a huge leap offensively from his rookie year where he averaged 2.7 points per game. He shot the ball with splits of .320/.238/.429 over the 15 games that he played. This season he has developed a rhythm that has increased his numbers exponentially.

His slash line this season is an impressive .426/.388/.833. Thanks to the injury issues of the Portland Trail Blazers this season, Trent is averaging 20.0 minutes per game compared to just 7.4 per game in his rookie campaign.

Where Trent has really stood out this year is on the defensive end. He is always pressuring the ball from about half court and making it harder for the opposition to get into their half-court offense. There is an urgency about his play which lifts the team.

If Trent can continue his production and intensity off the bench for the final month of the season, there could be playoff glory for the franchise again. Trent has shown that he is capable of stepping up as required and the more load he is able to take of Lillard and McCollum the better the Trail Blazers will be.