Few NBA teams are as acutely aware of the toll injuries take as the Portland Trail Blazers are. Mishaps are an unfortunate and inescapable reality of professional sports, especially in 2021. Several teams, through injuries combined with health and safety protocols, have been unable to field legal rosters this season, including the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and Washington Wizards. Health issues are particularly devastating.
Portland has been another case entirely. With CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic out, they were already shorthanded. As other players — like Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr.