When the Trail Blazers came away from the 2017 NBA Draft with Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan, the assumption was that the latter would end up playing more minutes during their respective rookie seasons minutes while the former would take more time to adjust after playing just one season at Gonzaga. It didn’t end up playing out that way, as Collins ended up as a part of Portland’s regular rotation — he averaged 15.8 minutes per game in 66 appearance — while what few opportunities Swanigan did get his rookie season typically came in blowouts.
There wasn’t much deviation from that allocation of playing time for Portland’s sophomores in the first five games of the 2018-19 season, with Collins continuing to earn more minutes while Swanigan collected DNPs.