Playing center alongside Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum isn’t all that different than playing center alongside James Harden. You’ll have to be prepared to set numerous screens per possession, play with high energy on defense to compensate for penetration, and almost never have a play run for you. It sounds harsh, but you’re essentially a prop existing on the court to help your franchise guard(s) do what they do best.

In theory, it’s the type of thankless job that might not be any fun.

But the difference between Portland’s guards and Harden is that Lillard and McCollum don’t treat the player roles on their team like a hierarchy. They embrace quick ball movement. We can get away from the question of whether or not Harden is a good teammate, and say with certainty that Lillard and McCollum most definitely are great teammates and leaders who don’t let their big men go unappreciated.

Seemingly through sheer camaraderie and results, they’ve gotten four young, talented big men to buy into playing a high-energy, (relatively) low usage role at center. The problem that Terry Stotts faces on a nightly basis is figuring out which one to play. The addition of Evan Turner and the increased power forward minutes of Al-Farouq Aminu has meant Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis, Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh are all playing less minutes early this season than they averaged last season.

When I talked to Stotts before the Blazers 105-95 win over the Mavericks, he admitted that there isn’t really a goal to establish a set rotation of centers. “For the big men, I think it’s kind of situational,” Stotts said. “Our backcourt—our wings, one, two, and three—that rotation is more or less set.”

Last season those four centers ranked fifth (Plumlee), sixth (Leonard), seventh (Davis), and tenth (Vonleh) in minutes played. Through five games this year they are ranked seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth in minutes played. They will almost always need one on the floor, and yet with the possible exception of Plumlee, none are given any semblance of consistent minutes.

“Noah Vonleh played two nights ago and Meyers didn’t,” Stotts told me. “Meyers played against Phoenix. Sometimes it’s matchups. Sometimes it’s feel.”

Later that night, Vonleh received a DNP-coach’s decision and Leonard played four minutes.

All four of them have clear weaknesses: Plumlee and Davis can’t shoot, Leonard can’t protect the rim, and at 21, Vonleh is still pretty raw in terms of his development. But Stotts believes that the fact that they all bring specific skills to the game is what makes the Blazers so dangerous and equipped to matchup with different opponents. 

“I think our big men offer different things. Mason is a phenomenal passer and runner of the floor. Ed Davis is a sold inside banger, rebounder, extra possession guy. Meyers is an outstanding big man shooter, and Noah is a young athletic guy who continues to get better.”

It's a testament to Lillard, McCollum and Stotts that four promising young centers are so willing to play so hard for them in whatever limited opportunities they get. But it’s also worth wondering if the center by committee rotation is actually less effective than if they had a player that could settle into that role with heavy minutes like Clint Capella, Nerlens Noel, or Tyson Chandler. 

There may be hope that free agent signing Festus Ezeli will eventually take the role of starting center and evolve into a 30-plus minute per game player when he recovers from knee surgery. But rumors about his recovery process aren’t positive. When you combine his injury with his inconsistency in Golden State, it’s more likely that he becomes just another center in the rotation who will take minutes away from his four peers without actually standing out from them in a significant way. 

It’s easy to root for the Blazers and their current roster. They all embrace roles that fit perfectly into Stotts' free-flowing, enjoyable to watch game plan led by the supreme confidence of Lillard. And it’s certainly reasonable to think that one of their four big man will have the chops to get the job done on any given night. But young players struggle with consistency so the burden is high for Stotts to correctly find the hot hand at center. 

Lillard and McCollum aren’t going to stop providing the production Portland has become accustomed to. The rest is much more up in the air, and Stotts will have to walk a tightrope with his big men rotation all season. The right attitude is there. We’ll see about the production.

“One of the things I have to do throughout the course of the game and the season is figure out what’s in the best interest of the team on a given night,” said Stotts.