Duop Reath has wasted little time making the case that, fresh off a promotion to your Portland Trail Blazers' standard 15-man roster, he might be deserving of the club's starting center spot.
In a 119-114 defeat to the Western Conference's No. 2-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves last night, the big man notched 26 points while shooting 10-of-14 from the floor (including 5-of-6 from long range), plus three rebounds, one block, one assist and a steal. Anfernee Simons scored a Portland-high 34 points.
During a postgame chat with Root Sports Northwest's Brooke Olzendam, Reath unpacked his best-ever night.
"I think we scrapped out there today, just left it on the floor gave our a chance to compete," Reath said of the team's performance. "I just think that we just kept sticking to our game plan. Coaches kept emphasizing just keep playing how we playing, just keep playing fast, good stops and just get out."
Portland has stunningly gone 2-1 in its ongoing road trip.
Then, he dove into his own superlative play.
"I felt good. I was hitting some shots, so felt good to be out there to be able to make some plays for the team, so it felt good," Reath added. He then expanded on how the club hopes to grow from this solid run. "We just want to keep working on ourselves, just keep building, just keep trying to get better."
For the year across 46 contests so far, Reath adds a fresh dimension to the club's offense, thanks to his ability to stretch the floor. He's connecting on 37.6% of his 3.7 triple tries a night. DeAndre Ayton does have a solid post game, but he cannot shoot from outside, and he slows down the Trail Blazers' offense while looking to get his stats. Maybe Reath is the forward-thinking solution at the five spot the team needs.
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