On Sunday, the Trail Blazers had what is called a “Blackout” day, which means no practice, no coming in for treatment, no weight lifting, no nothing. It is a day designed to give the players a break from basketball, a day when the lights stay off, leaving the practice courts black.

But it was no surprise when this Sunday, hours after the Blazers returned from Milwaukee, the lights flickered on and Pat Connaughton dribbled onto the court for a shooting session.

The way Connaughton sees it, there are no off days.

“I don’t ever want to look back and be like, ‘Oh, if I just put in a little more time,’’’ Connaughton said. “I just want to make sure I put in my work.’’

If there has been an unexpected boost, or a pleasant surprise to the Trail Blazers’ early season, it has been Connaughton, whose shooting off the bench has been a subplot to an encouraging 2-1 start.

His confident play, and accurate shooting, is rooted in days like Sunday. During the summer, Connaughton would hold two-a-day workouts, which included a requirement to make 500 three-pointers in each session, 1,000 a day.

“This is the year I wanted to make sure I was prepared for,’’ Connaughton said. “If it didn’t work out this year, then at least I could say I did it in attack mode. But I wanted to be ready for the moments.’’

So far, he has. After earning the backup shooting guard role with a solid preseason, Connaughton has been more than an adequate replacement for the departed Allen Crabbe, who was traded to Brooklyn.

Less than three minutes into the season opener in Phoenix, Connaughton was thrust into the game after Maurice Harkless got in foul trouble and the offense had sputtered to just two points. He instantly jump started what would turn out to be the most dominant opening night victory in NBA history by making his first five shots, eventually finishing with 24 points in 32 minutes.

He was also a factor in Indiana, hitting 3-of-4 shots, including two three-pointers, and in Milwaukee he continued the trend of making his first shot.

All told, Connaughton has made 13-of-20 shots, including 7-of-12 from three-point range, and scored 35 points. Crabbe in the first three games last season went 13-of-27, including 5-of-11 from three, and scored 40 points. It has been nearly the same production at a fraction of the cost (Connaughton makes $1.4 million while Crabbe last season made $18.5 million).

But even after the successful trip, and the flood of texts and calls from well-wishers, Connaughton knew he couldn’t, as he says, “start drinking the Kool-Aid” and rest on his laurels. After arriving home from Milwaukee in the early hours, he was back at the practice courts the next morning.

“For me, it’s funny because you hear from people, ‘Oh, you played so well on the road trip; you started the season the way you wanted to,’ but when I look at it, I look at Milwaukee, and I think I could have played better. I had two turnovers I could have avoided if I just took the jump shot that I had been shooting well.’’

It all replayed in his mind. The corner three he missed in Phoenix. A trailing three he missed in Milwaukee. The passing up a three in Milwaukee to penetrate, which resulted in a charge. The passing up a shot against the Bucks to make the extra pass, which was picked off. Those two turnovers had him talking to himself after he was pulled in the third quarter, as he went to the bench tapping his chest and saying “Shoot the ball … Shoot the ball … Shoot the ball.’’

“I’m keeping that fresh in my memory,’’ Connaughton said. “I have to do more things better.’’

It’s that work ethic and attention to detail that has elevated Connaughton from a baseball player trying to make the NBA, to an everyday rotation player.

Connaughton will likely play around 20 minutes each game, and coach Terry Stotts says he has always had confidence in Connaughton, dating back to last season when he played him in the playoffs. Stotts says he doesn’t see that changing.

But there is no question Connaughton’s stock has risen after the first three games.

“What he did is good for his confidence, good for the (coaching) staff’s confidence,’’ CJ McCollum said. “Lots of guys can shoot in practice. Lots of guys can shoot when there is nobody in the gym. And some guys can shoot at home in front of the home crowd. But not everybody can shoot on the road, at OKC, or at Golden State. That’s when you really see about players. Like a close game in Milwaukee … things change … and that’s when you judge people.’’

Connaughton, who says he has worked out on all but one “Blackout” day in his two-plus seasons in Portland, knows that rest will become more important now that he has graduated from a bit player to rotation player. Even so, he figures he will always be in the gym, “Blackout” or not.

“For me, the biggest thing has kind of been just building off good play,’’ Connaughton said. “This is the sport I’ve worked at the most in my entire life, so I want to go out there knowing I can do this, as opposed to playing timid and trying to figure things out. And to do that, I have to put in the work.’’

So for about an hour, he shot Sunday. While he was there, he saw a rehabilitating Noah Vonleh, and team captain Damian Lillard. And as he was leaving, McCollum was coming in for a workout of his own.

McCollum took note as he and Connaughton crossed through the doors.

“The work ethic is there,’’ McCollum said, nodding. “He knows what is at stake here.’’

Today's Blazers' links:

NBC Sports Northwest has video of Evan Turner's feelings about the plus/minus statistic.

Nick Krupke at KPTV has a nice feature on Maurice Harkless and his hobby of photography.

The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports that Noah Vonleh is targeting a Nov. 1 return at Utah.

Mike Richman at The Oregonian writes about the Blazers' streak of winning home openers.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune previews tonight's Pelicans-Blazers game.