The 2019-20 season has been a lonely one for Trail Blazers’ big men. Between Jusuf Nurkiu0107 sitting out the entirety of the season thus far and both Zach Collins and Skal Labissiere (since traded) suffering significant injuries, Portland regularly entered games this season with only one player on the active roster, center Hassan Whiteside, listed at a height taller than 6-9. That assured Whiteside would get all the minutes he could handle, though if he found himself in foul trouble or out of position, the results were less than ideal.
But much has changed for the corp of Trail Blazers bigs in the four months since the NBA put the regular season on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.