Big Things In Portland

By Nathan Thomas

“And with the 26^th pick the Portland Trailblazers select Caleb Swanigan Purdue University.” Less than a month later it didn’t take long for Biggie to win the hearts over of the Portland faithful. The former Big Ten player of the year and AP All American completely balled out in the Las Vegas Summer League. He put up 16.1 PPG and 10.4 RPG. Becoming the most recent first round pick to average a double-double since Blake Griffin did it in 2009.

His first Summer League game came against the Utah Jazz and Biggie did what he does best, Rebound. His first bucket was actually an offensive rebound put back. He didn’t shoot all that well but he made up for it on the glass grabbing 13 rebounds and putting up 16 points on 4-12 shooting in a win in his debut.

From the first game, you could tell Biggie was going to be  the leader of this team, he does so much to impact a basketball game without scoring, boxing out every play, creating space down low, directing the offense on the post, he’s the complete floor general. His 2^nd game of summer league was in my opinion his worst game, he got into foul trouble early and couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively he ended with 12 points 7 rebounds in a single digit loss to Boston.

Moving on to game 3 Biggie got back into his grove putting up another double-double, his 2^nd game with 13 rebounds. This time against the Spurs. The game was great up until the 4^th quarter. Bryn Forbes who led the Vegas Summer League in PPG with close to 30 a night had a monster game with 35 and couldn’t seem to miss. Biggie however dominated on the post he posted 19 points on a terrific 8-12 shooting. His 19 and 13 weren’t enough through. The Spurs won 99-85

With a 1-2 record and only one game left until the playoffs

Biggie and the Blazers turned their mindset completely around, They Dominated early against the Bulls, I said it early during the draft process and I’ll say it again , Biggie is by far the best passing big in this draft. After getting into foul trouble early with a few questionable offensive fouls he took a less aggressive approach to his game, looking to pass more from the post worked in his favor Portland’s whole  starting 5 was in double digits scoring. Biggie ended with 13 points and missed his double-double by one rebound. Portland won 88-77

On to the tournament where Portland met the number one seeded Toronto Raptors. With the fear of elimination facing them in their eyes Biggie and Portland didn’t turn away. This game was so fun to watch, two great teams trading buckets back and forth. Nick Johnson who came off the bench for Portland put up 17 points all in the 2^nd half and hit some of the clutches shots I’ve seen in summer league. Biggie played a great game shooting 50% from the field and being and an ultimate defensive anchor playing great on both sides of the court. He ended with 13 points 11 rebounds.

In the 2^nd round of the tournament Portland got their rematch with Forbes and the Spurs. This time they were ready they frustrated Forbes early, forced him to take bad shots and got  him into foul trouble early. He only played 19 minutes and fouled out. Biggie shot well going 8-14 scoring 16 points. Advancing to the semi finals to play Memphis. That game started horribly, I’m not going to lie at one point I thought it was going to be over this dude Bigs proved me wrong. He ended with 15 points 11 rebounds but it was his energy that stood out. Dude never quits man, going for every rebound, playing hard on both sides, getting everyone involved he put the team on his back with his hustle and will. The 2^nd half of this game was all Portland, leading them to the championship game to face the Lakers.

This whole game all we heard about was Lonzo Ball, the number 2 overall pick in this years draft from UCLA. He won the Summer League MVP which I thought he shouldn’t have because he missed two games including the championship but that’sa topic for another day. . This game was extremely fun to watch, fast pace basketball at its finest. This was Biggie’s best game by far. What stood out the most was his court vision. Biggs was looking like a point forward out there! Getting rebounds and pushing the ball, throwing no look passes on the break. Proving my point that he is BY FAR  the best passing big in this years draft. He had a near triple double with 25 points 12 rebounds and 7 assists. 3 steals on defense too dude was everywhere . Kyle Kuzma went off for the Lakers scoring 30 points hitting 6 threes. Portland lost 110-98.

  Biggie made First team all Summer League, I may have a bias opinion but I felt he was the MVP. But he really proved that he can be the best player on a team and win. His game is going to fit perfectly with Portland’s pick and roll system. I can’t wait to watch him out there with Dame and CJ, I think they can surprise a lot of  doubters and make some noise in the west. Biggie is certainly holding his own out there in the NBA, he’s definitely putting on for Fort Wayne too. I can’t wait to see what’s next to come.