The Portland Trail Blazers’ starting power forward, Zach Collins, dislocated his left shoulder on Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Collins awaits an MRI on Monday which will indicate the severity of the injury.
Portland F Zach Collins will get an MRI on his dislocated left shoulder Monday, league source tells ESPN. He was hurt in victory over Dallas tonight.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2019
With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Collins battled for a rebound, sandwiched between Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic. He came away clutching at his shoulder.
He immediately headed to the bench and was ruled out for a return by the team shortly thereafter. The play where Collins is injured can be seen here, via NBC Sports Northwest:
Zach Collins leaves game with left shoulder injury#ripcity pic.twitter.com/siIj4s3FGR
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) October 28, 2019
The Portland Trail Blazers are walking a thin line with their bigs this season. Jusuf Nurkic is currently recovering from a leg fracture that should keep him out for a significant portion of the season. Pau Gasol is out with a left foot injury.
If the Trail Blazers do, indeed, have a more serious injury on their hands, then they’ll be left with Hassan Whiteside and Skal Labisisere as the only centers on their roster. The team opted to go small once Whiteside fouled out in Sunday’s contest, playing Mario Hezonja at the five.
Collins, who’s in his fourth year with the Portland Trail Blazers, is getting significant minutes thus far this season after making strides last year.
In his first two games, Collins averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 31 minutes per game. He’s a respectable enough shooter from the outside to allow the Blazers to spread the floor even with a big out on the court.
In 24 minutes on Sunday before exiting with injury, Collins had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
With the limited bench depth and a struggling Anthony Tolliver as Zach Collins’ backup at the four, it will be interesting to see how the Portland Trail Blazers choose to match up against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
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