Gary Trent Jr. One of the Bubble’s Biggest Surprises

Trail Blazers fans are thrilled with the Gary Trent Jr’s emergence this season, especially in the NBA bubble. Now the NBA as a whole is taking notice.

Preston Ellis of Bleacher Report talked up Trent’s surprise play:

Between Jan. 18 and Feb. 9, the 2018 second-round pick from Duke averaged 14.6 points per game in 11 contests. The breakout was exactly what the struggling Portland Trail Blazers were looking for, and it has followed them into the seeding tournament.

Trent has emerged as the Blazers’ fourth-leading scorer with 18.0 points per contest in six seeding games. He’s been sizzling from deep, shooting a remarkable 56.9 percent on 8.5 deep attempts per game.

He hasn’t shrunk from the moment or his competition, and cameras even caught him tossing barbs back-and-forth with 2019 Blazers nemesis Paul George.

The path is open for the Blazers given the slippages of the Memphis Grizzlies. If Trent can continue his impressive play, they may very well meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers needed a knockdown three-point shooter on the wings and Trent has more than filled that role of late.

Can Trent keep it up through the rest of the season and (potentially) the playoffs? Or is their a way for opponents to keep a lid on his shooting now that he’s on the scouting report? Let us know in the comments!