The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off a huge upset on Tuesday, as they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of this first-versus-eighth Western Conference Playoffs matchup. Damian Lillard led his team with another tremendous performance, but he was quick to heap praise on his teammates after what was an amazing victory for Portland.
Lillard named Hassan Whiteside as the X-factor for the Blazers in the game, noting that they wouldn't have won without the big man.
“This series is big as far as Suge (Whiteside) being on the floor. He blocked shots, he changed shots, he rebounded. He had a positive impact on the game and without him tonight, we don’t win this game,” the Blazers star said.
Whiteside logged 26 minutes coming off the Portland bench, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds and five blocks. He provided some quality minutes for the second unit, backing up starting big man Jusuf Nurkic.
Moreover, Hassan's role in the contest became even more significant following the injury to Zach Collins, who was forced to miss Game 1 due to an ankle injury. It is unclear at this point if Collins will be able to make it back for Game 2 on Thursday, but either way, Whiteside's play will be of utmost important for the Blazers and their playoff hopes.
The 31-year-old has actually been great all season long, serving as the team's starting center when Nurkic was rehabbing his broken leg. Over the course of the 2019-20 regular season, Whiteside has averaged 15.5 points (on 62.1 percent shooting), 13.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and a league-leading 2.9 swats per contest.
He has been big for Portland since arriving last summer via an offseason trade from the Miami Heat, and it is clear that the team will rely on his rim protection — among other things — from here on out.
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