Report: Zach Collins will require season-ending ankle surgery

Portland Trail Blazers PF/C Zach Collins will require season-ending ankle surgery, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Collins injured the ankle during the play-in tournament against the Grizzlies. He had missed the first two games of the Blazers’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Collins had been replaced in the starting lineup by Wenyen Gabriel through the first couple playoff games. The Blazers have also leaned heavily on a smaller rotation with Carmelo Anthony playing PF and Jusuf Nurkic at C. Portland has lack of depth in the front court without Collins that could be cause for concern the rest of the series.

Since Collins had already been out, we sort of know how the Blazers rotation will be. Hassan Whiteside will have to play additional minutes off the bench, but it’s tough to play both Whiteside and Nurkic in the same lineup. Portland will need Whiteside to match Anthony Davis and the Lakers’ length down low.