Blazers' Napier Wants To Prove NBA Career Is Not A Flop
- Shabbaz Napier has the support of his Blazers teammates and his recent performances have called for more playing time, Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest writes. In a contract year, Napier wants the chance to show he can be a productive NBA player.
Nurkic Isn't Pouting About Crunch-Time Minutes
- Jusuf Nurkic isn’t brooding over his lack of crunch-time minutes in recent games, Mike Richman of The Oregonian reports. Coach Terry Stotts has gone with the backup Ed Davis in the fourth quarter the last two games but the starting Trail Blazers center says he’s not upset. “No drama, man,” Nurkic told Richman. “It’s all about the [next] game.”
Crabbe Still Has Fondness For Portland
- Nets guard Allen Crabbe didn’t hide his nostalgia for Portland when he returned to the city Friday for the first time since a July trade, relays Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Crabbe spent four seasons with the Trail Blazers before the deal and says he still has fond feelings for the organization. However, he believes he has a greater opportunity to become a full-time player in Brooklyn. “It’s everything an NBA player would want,” Crabbe said. “To be a key piece to a team. I don’t think it was going to happen [in Portland].”
Northwest Notes: Carmelo, Westbrook, Leonard
During the offseason, the Thunder added two forces in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to play alongside reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, but the offense has yet to look explosive. The team is scoring just 102.5 points per game, a figure that ranks 23rd in the league.
George, who can become a free agent at the end of the season, believes the team’s struggles are due to playing too much iso-ball.
“We put pressure on individuals,” George said after the team’s loss to the Kings on Tuesday (via Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman). “When we get stagnant, we put pressure on individuals, and we’re too good of a team one through 14 – especially with that starting five – we’re too good of a team to allow ourselves to put pressure on one another.”
According to Dawson, Anthony ranks second in the league in isolation possessions with 6.6 per contest. Westbrook comes in at 3.2 per game (ranked 19th in the league) and George is at 3.0 (21st).
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Westbrook isn’t concerned about the Thunder’s lack of cohesion on the court, Dawson adds in the same piece. “I’m encouraged by the group of guys we have in that (locker) room,” Westbrook said. “I will be better. I take ownership in how we’re playing. I will be better and we will be better, so I’m not worried.”
- Meyers Leonard could return to the court next week, which is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a right lateral ankle sprain, Mike Richman of the Oregonian relays. The Trail Blazers center sustained the injury on October 25 and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
C.J. McCollum Discusses Recruitment Of Carmelo
In a conversation with TNT’s David Aldridge at NBA.com, Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum discussed his club’s performance so far, his shoe deal with Li Ning, Jusuf Nurkic‘s impact on the Blazers, and several other topics. Among those topics? Portland’s relatively quiet offseason. While McCollum has confidence in the Blazers’ core group, he acknowledged to Aldridge that he did make an effort to recruit Carmelo Anthony when the All-Star forward was on the trade block.
“I mean, I figured why not? Why not recruit someone you think can help your team?” McCollum said. “I just told him the truth. … I told him one time how he could help [the Trail Blazers], and that was basically the end of it. I felt like when someone’s a free agent and you know them and you’re around them, you need to share how you think they can help you and how you think you can help them. They have the right to make their own decision, and I think he’s happy where he’s at, and I wish him the best except when they play us.”
Blazers Face Stars They Missed Out On
- The Trail Blazers will host the Thunder in a Sunday tilt, the first appearance either Carmelo Anthony and Paul George will make in Portland this season. As Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes, the franchise actively pursued both over the course of the summer, to no avail.
Al-Farouq Aminu Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks
Al-Farouq Aminu, the Trail Blazers’ starting small forward, will be sidelined for the next two or three weeks due to a sprained right ankle, writes Mike Richman of The Oregonian. The club has confirmed the diagnosis and the timeline.
Aminu, 27, had been off to a solid start this season, averaging 9.4 PPG and a career-high 8.1 RPG through eight games. He was also knocking down three-pointers at a career-high rate, making 1.6 per game with a .433 3PT%.
“It’s tough,” Damian Lillard said of his teammate on Thursday. “Chief (Aminu) is a huge part of our team. He does a lot of things that might not get mentioned all the time, might not show up on the stat sheet, but he’s as big a part of our team as just about anybody. Whatever the situation might be somebody’s going to have to step up and we’re going to have to figure out a way to get some wins.”
While Aminu will be sidelined until later in November, the Blazers did get another injured power forward, Noah Vonleh, back this week. Vonleh shifted into the starting lineup for Portland on Thursday in what was just his second game of the season.
Rookies Caleb Swanigan and Zach Collins also could see a bump in playing time during Aminu’s absence, while Maurice Harkless may see more minutes at power forward, Richman writes.
Al-Farouq Aminu Sidelined With Ankle Injury
- The Trail Blazers will be without forward Al-Farouq Aminu for the time being. Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes that the 27-year-old left Wednesday night’s game in a walking boot. While Richman writes that X-Rays came back negative, the team revealed that he’ll miss Thursday’s contest.
Meyers Leonard Out 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Injury
Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard, who was in a walking boot in the team’s locker room on Thursday, underwent an MRI on his injured right ankle and got some good news and bad news. According to the Blazers (Twitter link via Casey Holdahl), Leonard avoided major structural damage, but a lateral ankle sprain will keep him sidelined for about four to six weeks.
Leonard suffered the injury on Wednesday, before Blazers practice officially got underway. He was participating in some one-on-one work with Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan when he landed awkwardly, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
“I went to block Zach’s shot and landed on his big old size 19’s,” Leonard said.
Leonard, who is in the second season of a lucrative four-year deal with the Blazers, has been struggling to work his way into the team’s regular rotation this season. Through five games, the 25-year-old center has played just 17 total minutes, appearing in two contests. Ed Davis has handled backup duties at center behind starter Jusuf Nurkic.
The Blazers should get a boost to their frontcourt depth soon, with Noah Vonleh aiming to return to the court next week. Outside of Leonard and Vonleh, both of Portland’s two-way players – Wade Baldwin and C.J. Wilcox – are also sidelined due to injuries.
Second Unit Impresses; Baldwin's Successful Surgery
The Trail Blazers have jumped out to a hot start this season thanks in large part to their formidable second unit. Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest writes that the club’s bench is becoming one of the league’s best.
Other player who have looked solid off the bench for the Trail Blazers include Ed Davis and Pat Connaughton. This season, 28-year-old Davis has emerged as a voracious rebounder (18.8 per-36) and Connaughton has chipped in with 10.8 points per game, including two three-pointers made per contest at a 50% clip.
- Second-year guard Wade Baldwin signed a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers this week but the team’s official website has announced that the guard has undergone surgery and is expected to miss six weeks after tearing a ligament in his right thumb.