A team with Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Hassan Whiteside isn’t supposed to lose (!) by nine (!!!) to a Golden State Warriors team that’s without Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell (!!!!).
But here we are. That’s what happened on Monday night. The Portland Trail Blazers lost to a team led by rookie Eric Paschall, who had 34 points, 13 rebounds and nailed 4-of-6 from distance. Credit also goes to Jordan Poole (16 points) and Ky Bowman (19 points, eight assists).
There are so many questions that need answering. But the main one is: who is this Eric Paschall guy? Let’s dive in.
Who is he?
With the 41st pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the Dubs took the 6-foot-9 255-pound forward out of Villanova, where he was part of a national title squad that included fellow NBA talents Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman.
Was he good?
He was the team’s fifth-leading scorer with 10.6 ppg, but he also shot 35.6 percent from three and led the Wildcats with 53.3 FG% overall. So maybe the scouting staff saw some stretch potential in him …
… although he proved on Monday that he’s tough close to the hoop too:
What did Steve Kerr think about all this?
What’s funny is he saw something intriguing with Paschall in the preseason:
He made this good joke on Monday:
How did Curry feel?
Here’s your answer:
Speaking of Curry, here’s another fun fact:
Anything else we should know?
It was Paschall’s birthday on Monday!
