The Portland Trailblazers are in a bad shape right now. Aside the lowly ranked New York Knicks getting a 107-103 win past them, the side has been in a free fall for much of the young season.
Months after shocking everyone out of their boots by going all the way to the Western Conference semifinal before exiting at the hands of Conference winner Golden State Warriors, Portland is not faring well at all. Mind you, the Blazers exceeded expectations following the losses of five key members in just one offseason as LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicholas Batum, Arron Afflalo, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez were lost to other teams in the league.
Yes the improved play of C.J. McCollum coupled with that of leader Damian Lillard were the main protagonists of that Cinderella Story but one must admit certain factors went the way of Portland particularly health issues. McCollum for starters had endured two straight seasons of health misery but finally got to show off his immense skill after seeing loads of minutes on the court. The opposing camps were not so lucky as contenders Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and particularly, the LA Clippers got hit hard by the injury bug.
I for one wasn’t convinced Lillard’s team could replicate that tremendous campaign this season mainly because of the inverted reasons stated above and true to form, it is happening right before our eyes. Newly signed Center Festus Ezeli is yet to play this season after moving from the Warriors and fellow Nigerian, Al-Farouq Aminu is sidelined with a strained left calf injury.
On the court, things are not looking up either as do it all reinforcement Evan Turner, is yet to bring his versatile effectiveness from Boston to the Moda Center bar a 19 point, four assists, four steal performance against Brooklyn Nets. Portland won that game with a 20 point margin but the down ridden Nets managed to score over 100 points-109 to be precise- in the game. When elite scorers like DeMar DeRozan lead Toronto Raptors to score a century of points and more over your team, life simply goes on. But against a fruitless offensive collection that is the Nets, that mark is simply unacceptable. Little surprise the Blazers are ranked dead last in the league in defensive rating much worse than Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and the ever rebuilding Philadelphia Sixers.
Following Tuesday’s loss to New York Knicks, Portland’s record spots eight wins and eight losses placing it in the final spot for a playoff seeding and only above ninth placed Utah Jazz. The side can notch its ninth win of the campaign should it manage to beat Eastern Conference leader Cleveland Cavaliers early tomorrow morning away from home. Had the team shown the same fortitude it did in last season’s campaign, this matchup would have been a tougher one to call than it is now.
However, the altered script of the day basically has the worst defense in the league taking on the fifth best offensively rated team according to basketball reference.com; easily making the tie a shoe in win for the defending champions. One major factor for Portland’s derision has been its poor showing against teams in the upper tier as the side is winless against those teams. Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Rockets scored wins in those matchups. Coupled with shock losses to New Orleans Pelicans and the Knicks, blurs the team’s outlook for postseason action.
Till date beating Utah Jazz stands as arguably the side’s best win thus far but even that came with Utah’s best player Gordon Hayward miss the game due to a finger injury. With LeBron James and the rest of the Cavs well rested for the matchup not forgetting Blazers will be playing its second game for the second straight night, Coach Terry Stotts must be looking beyond Thursday’s game to right the ship. But one can never tell what happens next. This is the NBA after all; a league where Tyler Johnson and Hassan Whiteside get rewarded with $50 million plus deals for two seasons (a year and a half in Whiteside’s case) of service.
And we shouldn’t forget Portland started last season in similar fashion as it won only 11 of 20 games to begin the season but racked up 29 wins after Christmas to effectively seal its place in the playoffs. They will need more of the same now more than ever.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
