National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers Player Grades: McCollum Stuns the Grizzlies

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Player grades and analysis from the Portland Trail Blazers’ 100-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies

The Trail Blazers will return home with a winning record after beating the Grizzlies to cap off their three game road trip. Early doubts surrounding this team have been silenced after two quick wins over veteran Western Conference teams. Terry Stotts’ squad will now get a chance at revenge against the Suns. Before we jump ahead, we will now take a look at some of the individual performances from today.

Damian Lillard

PG, 19 PTS / 7 AST / 6 REB

B-It wasn’t a strong shooting night for the Trail Blazers’ leading man (3-11 FGM-FGA), but he was able to make up for it in other ways. Lillard continues to be effective driving to the basket, only this game it was shown through his perfect eleven for eleven mark from the free throw line. Expect him to get back to his scoring ways against Phoenix on Tuesday.

C.J. McCollum

SG, 37 PTS / 2 AST / 4 REB

A+McCollum was looking for a bounce back game after a rough outing against the Mavericks, and he delivered today against the Grizzlies. The other half of Portland’s talented guard tandem was able to connect on six of his twelve three point attempts, which caused Memphis’ defense to scramble for answers. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for McCollum.

Maurice Harkless

SF, 18 PTS / 7 REB / 2 BLK

AHarkless has quietly put together a couple quality games over the last week of play. He used his long frame and athleticism to be a disruptive force on the defensive end throughout the contest. If he can supplement his intensity on defense with quality shooting on offense – then we are talking about the former Magic castaway becoming a real force for Portland.

Al-Farouq Aminu

PF, 8 PTS / 2 AST / 4 REB

D+It was another rough outing for Portland’s starting power forward in this contest. Aminu’s shooting percentages continue to plummet, and he struggled to pull down rebounds against a physical Memphis team. JaMychal Green was able to snag eight rebounds (four offensive) for the Grizzlies, which puts a ton of added stress on the Trail Blazers’ defense.Next: More From Rip City Project

Mason Plumlee

C, 7 PTS / 3 AST / 7 REB

CPlumlee was able to fight off foul trouble to stay on the court for a solid twenty-four minutes, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Marc Gasol’s twenty-one point outing. His biggest contribution to the victory might have been his two steals, as one of them helped put the game on ice late in the fourth quarter.