Portland Trail Blazers Roster
- Western Northwest
- Stadium
- Moda Center
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (leg) was expected to make his season debut against the Houston Rockets on March 15. However, the NBA has currently suspended play which means Nurkic will have to wait to take the court. The Blazers were expected to ease him back into action giving him around 15 minutes of play during his first game back. Nurkic will get more time to prepare himself now, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him getting more than 15 minutes when the NBA returns. Hassan Whiteside has been fantastic this season, so it's unlikely that Nurkic takes away many minutes from him. Nurkic could find himself having some fantasy value, but fantasy owners will have to wait and see.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony connected on 9-for-16 shooting en route to 21 points and he also added a bunch of extras in the huge win over the Suns on Tuesday. Anthony was electric in isolations as he took advantage of Dario Saric and the veteran also provided three rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in 32 minutes of action. Melo came into this one shooting just five of 17 over his last two games, so owners can hope he will keep this rolling with fantasy playoffs already started or starting soon in most leagues.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard provided a full line on Tuesday in the 121-105 win over the Suns. Lillard connected on 8-for-17 shooting to score 25 points and he also added five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks with just turnovers in 40 minutes of action in the big win. With the Blazers still in the hunt for the playoffs, Lillard will continue to roll and has been a top-five player across all formats this season. He and his club play next on Thursday and it will be a big game when they play the eighth-placed Grizzlies, so expect an aggressive Lillard in that one.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was not at his sharpshooting best on Saturday night as he shot below 30 percent in a game for the first time since Christmas. Lillard played 33 minutes in a 123-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings, but could only muster 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Maybe it was a delayed rust game for the point guard after he scored 22 and 24 points since his return from a groin injury. Still, expect the All-Star to bounce back to his usual form on Tuesday when the Phoenix Suns come to town. In 28 career games against the Suns, Lillard has averaged 24.5 points per game.
Death, taxes, and Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside collecting a double-double in an NBA game. Those are the three things that you can rely on in this world. Despite a 123-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Whiteside still got his statistics with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks in 30 minutes. He is averaging a career-high 14.3 rebounds per game this season and is leading the league with 3.1 blocks per game. It seems absurd to think that the former-Miami player was the 20th center taken over the board in drafts to begin the year. He is the No. 2 center in fantasy so far in 2020 and has probably led a lot of teams to the playoffs in their respective leagues.