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Portland Trailblazers
I implored the Portland Trail Blazers to pick up a center with the ‘hardship exception’. But General Manager Kevin Pritchard sought the next best thing. He decided to bring in a do-it-all forward that can have a huge impact on such a depleted team: Anthony Tolliver.
Portland signed the 6-10 forward “with good shooting skills” out of the Developmental League, according to Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype.com. Sierra gives some background information on the him, writing, “Tolliver…played with the San Antonio Spurs for two months last season and also had a 10-day stint with the New Orleans Hornets. He was currently playing in the NBDL (NBA Developmental League) with the Idaho Stampede, where he was averaging 20.7 ppg and 9.9 rebounds and shooting 43 percent from three-point land.”
He proved to be a solid rebounder, especially offensively, with the Stampede. In Wednesday night’s game, he snagged 17 rebounds, including seven offensive, dished four assists, blocked two shots, and collected two steals to compliment his 20 points. With Przybilla on the bench, the Blazers have been helpless on the glass, so Tolliver’s rebounding ability should help the Blazers considerably. There is so much more to his game, as shown by his stat-line and in Scott Schroeder’s : “He can play inside and outside on offense, does the little things on defense and generally seems to care – which isn’t, unfortunately, a given in the D-League.”
In a post by Ben Golliver of Blazersedge, Schroeder, the writer for Ridiculous Upside, continued his praise of Tolliver:
“He’s not a guy that can get the ball in the post and dominate, but he has enough low post game to be able to score with his back to the basket.
He’s too versatile to just sit him in the post and let him go to work with his back to the basket all game.
He’s not strong enough to guard [Orlando Magic center] Dwight Howard, but he’ll be able to hold his own down low. As far as the meshing goes, nobody really meshes in the D-League, simply because everyone is trying to get to the NBA, but I’ve never heard any issues as far as Tolliver being a problem in that regard.
He’s active, athletic and only 24 years old. He’s not going to set the world on fire, but he’s willing do the little things, and do them well.”
The words “but he’ll be able to hold his own down low” are music to my ears. He’s not a center, but appears to be big and physical enough to substitute for Przybilla. He can stretch the floor, and, given his 10 three-point attempts against the Los Angeles D-Fenders earlier this month, loves to let it fly from deep. A scorer and a rebounder, versatile enough to play power forward, small forward, and shooting guard? Sounds good enough to me.
In an article by the Columbian’s Brian T. Smith, Tolliver had this to say upon being signed: “It’s great. It’s just another opportunity. I’ve had a few opportunities to do a little something in the NBA. So, this isn’t my first time around. But at the end of the day, it’s just another blessing. Hopefully I do get the chance to get on the court and show what I can do.”
Until this move the Blazers had three players capable of playing small forward. Martell Webster, Brandon Roy, and Dante Cunningham. Rudy Fernandez is due back in about a month. Nicolas Batum is set to return a little later. When Fernandez returns, Tolliver will be cut, but in the meantime Tolliver can do some damage inside and give Portland another scoring option on the wing.
He will be in uniform for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns, and will most likely get some playing time. When he does step onto the floor, the player “willing to do the little things, and do them well” will do his best to prove he belongs in the league. Though he is not a center, the position of significant need, the Blazers need all the help they can get, and given his talent, versatility, and motivation, he will be a positive 16th (or in their case, tenth) man until the long injury list shortens by one.
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Notes and Quotes:
In the aforementioned article by Smith, Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn said, “he’s putting up great numbers in the D-League. He’s shooting the ball really well; rebounding. He’s NBA ready. One good thing in the D-League is they’re playing NBA rules. They’re playing NBA pace. He’s able to come in and, if needed, play tonight.”
D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman had this to say about Tolliver: “I can remember few other occasions when a player seems as omnipresent as AT – sprinting to the sideline to snare long rebounds from unsuspecting guards and fighting his way to loose balls amidst the pack inside as well. Defensively, more of the same. One second, Tolliver’s jumping out to double a guard on a high screen-and-roll; the next, waiting at the rim to provide help on penetration or swat a shot out of vicinity of the basket.
Smith also relayed more good news: “[Patrick] Mills, a rookie guard, is expected to join the team on its upcoming four-game road trip.”
“Tolliver can remain on the Blazers’ roster until one of the team’s four most-recent injured players returns to action.”
An important note: Mills is not one of the four, considering he broke his foot on the first day of practice this past summer. This means the Blazers can add Mills while still keeping Tolliver.
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