Portland’s already depleted frontcourt might get even thinner.
Third-year big man Zach Collins exited Sunday’s 121-119 win over Dallas with a dislocated shoulder suffered late in the third quarter. Blazers coach Terry Stotts confirmed the injury after the game. Collins will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine its severity of his injury.
“(Doncic) jumped up and just jumped back, and my arm was still over his shoulder, and it went back the other way,” Collins said after Sunday’s game. “They said it popped back in so cleanly that it’s really a good sign. I thought it was going to be painful.”
"They said it popped back in so cleanly that that’s a really good sign, but that’s all I know" – @zcollins_33 pic.twitter.com/wgwzdxSP2W
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 28, 2019
The 21-year-old Collins represents one of the few young sources of improvement for the veteran Blazers, who advanced to the Western Conference finals last season. Drafted 10th overall in 2017, Collins averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks through the season’s first two games.
With Collins potentially out and Jusuf Nurkic still recovering from a leg injury suffered last season, the Blazers will lean even more heavily on veteran big man Hassan Whiteside for interior production.
