Portland Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins will undergo surgery on his dislocated shoulder, per Jason Quick of The Athletic. Since sustaining the injury in their matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 21-year-old center has missed the last two contests for the Blazers.
In three games played, Collins has logged averages of 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 28.7 minutes.
As pointed out by Blazers beat reporter Casey Holdahl, Collins' shoulder has been a historical concern.
Meyers Leonard dislocated his shoulder in 2015. Missed seven games, came back, played about 50 games, dislocated it again, had to have surgery. Sounds like with Zach Collins, they’re going straight to surgery (which is almost always an inevitability with shoulder dislocations).
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) November 3, 2019
Expectations were high entering the season for the former Gonzaga standout. Jusuf Nurkic will remain out for the majority of the season and Hassan Whiteside hasn't had a consistent clean bill of health over the last year or so.
The Blazers are left very thin at the center spot. Pau Gasol is no longer in the business of playing heavy minutes and Anthony Tolliver is more of a stretch four, leaving Skal Labissiere to man the paint for the meantime.
Labissiere showed promise in the preseason but received way fewer minutes when the regular season commenced. He's only 23 years old and has shown glimpses of being a reliable big man when given the opportunity.
Despite the small sample size, it's still worth noting Labissiere's per-36 minute numbers of 18.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks this season. While there's no chance he'll log that long of floor time, it still speaks a lot about the Kentucky product's potential.
It'll be an uphill climb for the Blazers as they await the return of Collins and Nurkic. In their stead, Whiteside would need to remain healthy with Portland having no legitimate center outside of him.
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