Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Robin Lopez realizes the start of preseason NBA basketball is several weeks off and he still has a large chunk of the summer to enjoy.
But with the Portland Trail Blazers making plenty of noise during the offseason in their hopes of getting better and being a playoff contender, Lopez himself is the center of plenty of attention, with Trail Blazer fans anxious to see what the 7’0” center can do to improve his team’s attack.
It’s still three months away before the NBA tips off the regular season, but Trail Blazer fans can expect to see see a team that will be very improved in the paint, thanks especially to Lopez.
He had the breakthrough type of season last year with the New Orleans Pelicans that he needed to sustain in order to establish legitimate NBA credentials.
From the previous season when he was with the Phoenix Suns and had no starts, Lopez started every game with New Orleans. He averaged 26 minutes a game, which was a 12-minute improvement from the previous season. His other totals were also up with 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. His 53.4 percent field goal shooting percentage makes Lopez an excellent inside player, especially if the other team dares to foul him since he averages 77.8 percent a game in free throws.
Lopez is going to take some inside pressure off of LaMarcus Aldridge, which should help Aldridge put in more points and be even more dominant. Lopez will also take perimeter pressure off of Damian Lillard who could put in more numbers than he did as a rookie.
