The Portland Trail Blazers’ frontcourt has not had a major piece during its series against the Los Angeles Lakers, as Zach Collins has been sidelined with an ankle issue. Unfortunately for the team, in the event it is able to pull off the upset in the 1-8 series, it will not have Collins moving forward.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Collins’ ankle surgery, previously described as a left ankle Malleolar stress reaction, requires surgery. As a result, the big man is going to go under the knife and miss the remainder of the year.
Portland’s Zach Collins will require season-ending ankle surgery, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 21, 2020
Portland faced an uphill battle against Los Angeles even at full strength, but losing Collins makes the job far more difficult. The team has relied on young forward Wenyen Gabriel to give them plenty of minutes, while Hassan Whiteside and Carmelo Anthony will log fontcourt minutes next to Jusuf Nurkic. It’s a tricky situation for the Blazers regardless of opponent, but it’s particularly tough against a Lakers team that has a whole lot of size in its frontcourt.
Los Angeles won Game 2 on Thursday night, evening things up at one game apiece in the series. The Blazers will look to figure out a way to get a leg up in the series during Game 3 on Saturday night, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.