National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers Player Grades: Victory in Dallas

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

foxsports

Player grades and analysis from the Trail Blazers’ 105-95 victory against the Dallas Mavericks

The Trail Blazers got back to their winning ways with a solid showing against the Mavericks yesterday. A day of rest seemed to be the difference for Terry Stotts’ squad, as they proved to be too much for their opposition. Portland now sits at .500 and will face a revamped Grizzlies team on Sunday. Let’s now look at some of the individual performances from the win in Dallas.

Damian Lillard

PG, 42 PTS / 4 AST / 4 REB

A+The Mavericks searched for answers on how to slow down Lillard throughout the night, but nothing came remotely close to working. The former Weber State guard connected on five of his six three point attempts, which included two shots from the logo at half court. This year’s MVP race is loaded with talented guards, but Lillard is making a strong case for himself early on.

C.J. McCollum

SG, 9 PTS / 2 AST / 5 REB

DFoul trouble and poor shooting plagued McCollum’s outing in Dallas. Consistency hasn’t been one of his strong points to start the season, but that can change quickly for a guard with dynamic scoring ability. The fastest way for Portland’s second unit to recover from some subpar performances is to have McCollum get hot from outside. Look for him to put this game behind him and have a strong outing against a Grizzlies team that helped jump start his NBA career.

Maurice Harkless

SF, 9 PTS / 3 AST / 1 REB

CHarkless had a decent night, but he struggled to pull down rebounds against a fairly thin Mavericks front court. The Trail Blazers lost the rebounding battle yesterday, and pointing to Harkless’ single rebound is an easy target. On the plus side, he was the only one in Portland’s starting lineup that didn’t commit a turnover.

Al-Farouq Aminu

PF, 12 PTS / 3 AST / 10 REB

BAminu’s 4-13 shooting performance isn’t going to set the world on fire, but at this point the Trail Blazers will take it. It took six games for him to hit double digits in the points column, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Hopefully this is the start of a turnaround for Aminu, otherwise the starting offense will continue to struggle to space the floor. Next: More From Rip City Project

Mason Plumlee

C, 19 PTS / 4 AST / 4 REB

APlumlee continues to show that he has some of the best hands on the roster. He was able to rack up four steals on defense to go along with his strong offensive performance in the pick-and-roll game. The Trail Blazers need a clear third option, and it appears that they might have that in their starting center.