Storylines for Portland Trail Blazers-Oklahoma City Thunder playoff series, including Damian Lillard’s redemption, role players, health

The Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder open a best-of-seven playoff series Sunday afternoon at 12:30 at the Moda Center. The Thunder swept the four-game regular-season series, but the games were hotly contested, close and combative.

Here’s a look at five storylines to watch in the series:

HEALTH OF McCOLLUM, GEORGE

When CJ McCollum stepped in front of a cluster and cameras and microphones Friday afternoon for a post-practice interview session, the first question involved the health of his left knee and the second involved his playing time.

When Thunder star Paul George went through a similar media session in Oklahoma City, the questions probed the condition of his ailing right shoulder.

Two of the best players in this best-of-seven series enter Game 1 hobbled and/or recovering from injuries, and their health and playing status will be paramount over the next two weeks. On the eve of the playoff opener, McCollum and George appeared to be trending in opposite directions.

McCollum not only declared his left knee completely healthy, but also said his playing time would not be limited. “I feel good,” he said. “Looking forward to the playoffs.”

On the other hand, while George pledged to play in Game 1, he also sounded less reassured, noting that he was “making progress” and simply trying to get “better and better” every day. After sitting out the Thunder’s regular-season finale, George is officially considered “day-to-day” against the Blazers.

“It’s playoff time, so it’s more than this, it’s about being out there with my guys,” George told reporters. “As much as I can get it a hundred (percent) as possible, or close to it, you can expect me out there Sunday.”

George has been dealing with soreness in his right shoulder since Feb. 26, when he took the brunt of a hard hit in a loss at the Denver Nuggets. He missed the next three games and has played through pain here and there since.

His individual dominance was perhaps the biggest factor in the Thunder’s four-game regular-season sweep of the Blazers this season. He bludgeoned the Blazers for 38.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals during the regular season, shooting 45.2 percent from the field, including 46 percent from three-point range. He was so impressive, after a meeting in February, multiple Blazers touted him as the NBA’s MVP.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Moe Harkless said. “He can score in a lot of different ways. He gets to the free throw line. We’ve just got to make it tough on him, try to make every shot as difficult as possible, put some pressure on him, try not to let him be comfortable out there. We didn’t do a great job on him this season. But that doesn’t matter now. It’s about being ready for (Sunday) and the rest of the series.”

McCollum, who suffered a left knee strain on March 16, insists he enters the postseason fully healthy. But the Blazers’ starting shooting guard played in just two of the final 13 games and did so under a minutes-restriction in both, playing an average of 27 minutes. What’s more, he was clearly rusty after missing 10 games over three weeks, averaging 10.0 points while shooting 30.8 percent from the field (8 of 26), including 18.2 percent from three-point range (2 of 11).

Despite the frigid return, McCollum enters the postseason feeling as if he has the advantage in his matchup against the Thunder.

“I always feel like I have an advantage at the two,” he said. “That’s how you have to be. You have to be confident in your abilities and understand who you are as a player. Obviously they’re a good team, they bring a lot of dimensions. But I like our chances and I like my chances every night.”

DAMIAN LILLARD’S REDEMPTION

Damian Lillard was handcuffed in the playoffs last season by a harassing New Orleans Pelicans defense that threw blitzes and double-teams his way in an effort to take the ball out of his hands and limit his offensive brilliance.

And it worked to perfection.

After an All-NBA first team season, Lillard shot 35 percent from the field, including 30 percent from three-point range, and averaged 18.5 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 turnovers per game in the playoffs. As Lillard fizzled, so did the Blazers, who were swept out of the first round in humiliating fashion.

His playoff struggles have been well-chronicled. But as Lillard enters a new series with new playoff life and a fresh perspective, he insists he’s put last year’s old failures behind him. The Thunder offer Lillard a chance at redemption.

“I think this is an opportunity to rise to the occasion,” Lillard said. “To show that sometimes when you struggle and you go through a hard time, you’ve got to come back even harder; come back harder and the next time the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to be ready for it. And I think I’ve done everything all the way from that moment when we lost that game to prepare myself to be ready for it this time. I’m ready to go.”

Lillard spent a bulk of last summer watching — and rewatching — film of the Pelicans series, scrutinizing the way they blanketed him and searching for ways to counter similar defensive schemes. Then he spent this season demolishing defenses, including ones that tried to suffocate him with double-teams and traps. He averaged 25.8 points and a career-high 6.9 assists. He made another All-Star game. He’s in line to make another All-NBA team. He’s even receiving votes for NBA MVP.

But his season will ultimately be judged by how he performs in the playoffs, by how he navigates those pesky blitzes and traps.

Lillard said the Thunder have mixed up their defensive coverages against him this season, trapping him a few times, playing him straight up other times and throwing multiple bodies at him most of the time.

Of course, it will be up to teammates to make open shots when he passes to them out of double-teams. But it will also be on Lillard to be creative and find ways to make an impact, double-teams or not. Over the final 15 games of the season, Lillard seemed to focus on playmaking and creating as much as scoring, averaging 24.6 points and 8.8 assists, while accumulating double digits in assists six times.

He said the Blazers were “caught off guard” by the Pelicans’ defensive approach last season. That won’t be the case this time around.

“I think you have to think that it’s something that could happen,” Lillard said. “But you never know. All season long, I’ve been challenging myself to be prepared for whatever and (for) how I would attack whatever comes. Whether that’s regular season or postseason. Once we get out there and we see what’s happening, I’ll be ready to do whatever I need to do.”

REPLACING JUSUF NURKIC

The Blazers were treated to an unexpected visitor Saturday: Jusuf Nurkic stopped by the practice facility for a surprise visit, crashing the theater on crutches during a team film session.

“I figured you might need a little help, Coach,” Nurkic announced, as the team erupted with an ovation.

Of course, Nurkic, who suffered two fractures in his left leg, will not be available to help the Blazers against the Thunder. And the ability of Enes Kanter and Zach Collins to replace the Blazers’ beastly center will be an ongoing storyline throughout the series.

Kanter has filled in admirably since Nurkic suffered his season-ending injury, recording five double-doubles while averaging 18.1 points and 11.4 rebounds in eight starts. His matchup against one-time teammate and “brother” Steven Adams will be fun to watch and potentially difference-making. Kanter’s rebounding tenacity creates extra scoring chances and easy buckets, and his interior scoring has helped open up the perimeter for Lillard and McCollum.

“He can score around the basket different ways,” McCollum said. “Right hand, left hand, spin moves, jump hooks. He gets to the free throw line. You always have to be aware of where he’s at because he’s a threat whether you run plays for him or not. So I like the way he plays, I like his attitude.”

But Kanter’s defense is widely viewed as a liability. It will be interesting to see how coach Terry Stotts juggles the playing time of him and Collins, who has emerged as the Blazers’ best rim protector without Nurkic. After playing his way out of the rotation in the middle of the season, Collins flourished late. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 56.3 percent from the field, including 48 percent from three-point range, over the final 11 games. He scored a season-high 18 points in a win over Memphis, had a 13-point, two-block outing in a win over Chicago and ended the season with 13 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes in a win over Sacramento.

“I think Zach is someone that can really help us, especially with Nurk being out,” Lillard said. “What he’s capable of on the defensive end, his ability to stretch the defense out and shoot jumpers. I think he can really have an impact this series.”

Collins and Kanter do not come close to providing the two-way impact of Nurkic. But, collectively, they might just be enough to keep the Blazers afloat.

NEWNESS, CHEMISTRY OF STARTING FIVE

The Blazers’ chemistry and continuity has been a bedrock of their success in recent seasons, when you could bank on Stotts rolling out a dependable starting lineup featuring Lillard, McCollum, Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu and Nurkic.

But McCollum strained his left knee on March 16 and Nurkic suffered season-ending left leg fractures nine days later. The Blazers surged down the stretch without two of their best players, compiling a 7-2 record over the final nine games to snatch the third seed in the Western Conference. But along the way, Stotts tinkered and toyed with the Blazers’ starting lineup and player rotation, searching for ways to compensate for his lost players.

The starting lineup they will use against the Thunder — Lillard, McCollum, Harkless, Aminu and Kanter — played just two games together, escaping the Los Angeles Lakers with a Harkless buzzer-beating three-pointer and defeating a Denver Nuggets team resting three starters.

It’s fair to wonder: How quickly can a relatively unfamiliar starting lineup mesh, and what will the trickle-down effect be on the rest of the rotation?

Lillard downplayed any concerns this week, touting his team’s overall chemistry, culture and talent.

“Obviously we lost Nurk,” Lillard said. “Obviously CJ missed a lot of games and has only played two games since (his injury). We have a new starting five and all these things. But we’re together, man. As long as we understand what brand of basketball and what kind of things need to happen to give us a chance, I think we’ll be fine.”

Stotts has featured a 10-man rotation most of the season, going deeper into his bench than he has in previous seasons. It sounds like he’ll continue to ride with 10 players into the playoffs — when coaches often shorten their rotation — but could scale things back if needed.

“We’ll see how the game goes,” he said. “In the playoffs, each game is its own match. You kind of have preconceived ideas maybe of what you want to do, but the game may dictate something else. If we can stay with the same rotation, we will. If it doesn’t make sense to do that, then we won’t.”

WHO WILL BE THE X-FACTOR?

The playoffs are highlighted and defined by stars. But it’s the role players who often decide the outcomes.

The Blazers say they are better equipped and deeper than the team that faltered in the playoffs last season, even without Nurkic. And it’s their depth and versatility that could tilt this series in their favor. That was crystalized following an April win at the Minnesota Timberwolves, when the Blazers said they discovered a blueprint for potential postseason success.

“It’s not really about the firepower, it’s about how well we can make stuff happen collectively,” Lillard said then. “It’s about the sum of our parts.”

Seth Curry averaged 15.0 points and shot 48 percent from three-point range over the final 12 games of the season. Evan Turner logged two late-season triple-doubles. Rodney Hood averaged 11.2 points and shot 46 percent from the field over the final 14 games. Harkless played perhaps his best game in a Blazers uniform in that win over the Lakers, recording 26 points, eight rebounds and four blocks — in addition to hitting the game-winning three-pointers.

Can they continue their strong late-season play? Can they do enough to prop up Lillard and McCollum? Can they sink those shots when Lillard swings the ball their way out of a double-team?

Can Aminu and Harkless do what they couldn’t do all season and contain George?

The answers to those questions and the performance of the Blazers’ role players could decide the series.

“You don’t win series on the shoulders of just five players, the starting lineup,” Lillard said. “It’s what you can do with the group, especially this late in the season. It’s going to come down to everybody.”

— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox