Week 13: They Don't Want to See Us Coming

A bummer of a start to the week ended on a high note, as Portland will finish with a winning record (currently 8-4) against the state of California. This is massive when you consider the depth of the Western Conference. On top of that, Portland has won 10 of its last 13 games. For a team, a handful of games under .500 around Christmas, this is a big swing towards getting not just into the Play-In but vying for the 7 or 8 seed. Additionally, the Trail Blazers are trending as a “live and die by the three” team. This season, when they shoot league average (35.9%), they are 10-5, and when they shoot above their team average of 33.9%, they are 15-9. If we can start shooting from deep more efficiently, our defense can hold down the fort. This is an incredible find by Tom Haberstroh (Portland’s analytics insider) and something to keep an eye on the rest of the season. If we can keep this going, we’ve got a good chance at making a run after any deadline moves in February.

Game #41 - 1/13 @ Golden State (97-119 L)

Deni missed his first game of the season, and it was significantly felt. We had five players score double-digit points, but no one scored more than Shaedon’s 19. Nothing seemed to work for the Trail Blazers. Maybe it was the Warriors not wanting to get swept by Portland in the regular season. Or maybe it was the fact that we conceded 11 three-pointers in the first half, creating a 26-point lead for the Warriors. Over the last handful of years, the NBA has been notorious for squandering big leads. Tonight was not one of those nights. So much so that Golden State played 14 of their team-allotted 15 roster spots — unsurprisingly, Jonathan Kuminga was the lone absentee from the game. There wasn’t much to be excited about after this game. We lost almost every major stat except rebounds, committed 22 turnovers, and never led for a single second. After a frustrating loss to the Knicks Sunday night, this was about as “worst-case scenario” as you could imagine. And to think Steph Curry scored just 7 points and you lost by 22, seems inconceivable. All we can do is move on to the next game, a date with everyone’s favorite midrange shooter, the newly-acquired CJ McCollum, and the Atlanta Hawks!

Game #42 - 1/15 vs Atlanta (101-117 W)

The Rayan Rupert game? The young Frenchman we took a swing on two seasons ago was pivotal to tonight’s win. He was +22 in 16 minutes. Although he scored only 13 points, he was 5/7 from the floor and 3/4 from deep, with 3 steals. He was the third-leading scorer but contributed heavily to the 55 bench points needed to secure this win. The game was tight all night until the Blazers surged ahead in the fourth quarter with a 15-2 run, where 13 of those points were scored by bench guys. The Hawks made a bit of a comeback but ultimately fell short against the Blazers' stout defense, which allowed only 14 points in Q4. Shaedon led the way with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, followed by five other Blazers scoring double digits. Onyeka Okongwu was the scoring leader for Atlanta, draining 26 points, exceeding his average by 10. The Blazers were able to limit Atlanta’s biggest scoring threats, Jalen Johnson (23.3ppg) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20.0ppg), to 12 and 11 points, respectively. This game offered an all-defensive matchup between Toumani Camara and Dyson Daniels, yet they both underwhelmed, with only one block or steal between them. But this was a great bounce-back win for Portland after falling short on Sunday and getting blown out Tuesday. Hopefully, Tiago uses tonight’s win as an example of how to lead this team sans Deni, and we can use this as momentum to get things back on track.

Game #43 - 1/17 vs LA Lakers (116-132 W)

LeBron James, Marcus Smart, and Drew Timme all scored 20+ points, but it wasn’t enough for the Luka-less Lakers in Portland. Shaedon led the way, once again, without Deni, scoring 25 points on 50% shooting. Jerami and Caleb both added 22 points apiece, while Caleb passed out 7 assists. After a burst at the end of the first quarter, the Blazers never looked back. Largely in part to LA committing 13 fouls in the first quarter, leading to 20 Portland free throw attempts. It didn’t get much better for the Lakers after falling behind by 13. They made a little run midway through Q2, but were still behind at the half by 10. From that point on, Portland never led by less than double digits the rest of the way. Caleb and Jerami were a massive lift, especially coming off the bench, with Clingan notching a double-double of 18/11 — providing a massive presence in the post against the Laker bigs. This is a great continuation of success without Deni. He’s our main guy, and seeing this team succeed without him is incredible. If we can manage these games while he’s out with a winning or .500 record, that might be the biggest accomplishment this team can achieve this season.

Game #44 - 1/18 @ Sacramento (117-110 W)

Going 3-0 against Sacramento isn’t something to gloat about, but this is a team that can’t guarantee a victory against any team. Especially a team that doesn’t have much motivation to win. Is that due to the competency of the franchise, or just the general makeup of the team? I think both answers are yes, unfortunately. But the Trail Blazers got their All-Star forward back from injury, and he scored 30 points while adding 8 rebounds and assists. Clearly, Deni doesn’t need much to get going, but his presence on the court opens things up for others. Toumani went a perfect 7/7 from the floor, scoring 17 points, and Shaedon added 27 points on 8/19 shooting. But the bigger storyline here is that Portland shot 88% from the free-throw line and only missed two in the fourth quarter. That is a massive improvement, especially in late-game moments, over their average this season. It’s something I’ve harped on all season. I don’t understand how the average FT% for teams isn’t in the 80s. It’s an uncontested shot. It’s like in golf: a 5ft putt is something pros make about 80% of the time. NBA teams should not have as difficult a time making shots that are the same from arena to arena. If they want to succeed the rest of the way, they have to have these kinds of performances. When you’re gifted 33 chances at free points, you gotta take advantage. This was a good example of how it should go vs. how it could’ve gone. Hopefully, we take note and make it a positive moment for the rest of the season.

Pinwheel of the Week
With Deni sidelined with his back injury, I almost selected Coach Splitter based on his ability to navigate our best player’s absence. But it had to go to Donovan Clingan. If you discredit the Warriors' massacre, he was the most stable player on the roster. He set the foundation for the team in the post, allowing us to out-rebound opponents 184 to 141 (+43). Not only is he setting the tone for Portland, but he’s leading all sophomore NBA players in the paint. He’s the big man presence we’ve been missing for years, and all we can hope is that this is just the beginning of his incredible career.

Record: 3-1 (22-22)

Week 14 Games: Thu 1/22 vs Miami, Fri 1/23 vs Toronto

Week 12: Things Are Starting to Come Together

Two wins against Houston and a win at San Antonio during the 5-game win streak are something of note for this injury-plagued team. Deni averaged 31.4 points and 7.6 assists during the streak. He’s doing just about everything he can on the court, and the association is taking notice. The biggest improvement we’ve had so far in 2026 is our free-throw shooting. Unsure if Tiago has been reading my column, but something has changed. Since the New Year, the Blazers have shot 115/135, which is 85% and leads the league over that stretch. If we can continue this trend, it’ll help us in late-game scenarios and give us a shot at moving up in the standings. As much as this week ended on a low note, especially the way the Knicks game ended, the team is on a high, and hopefully, we can keep it rolling through the rest of January.

Game #37 - 1/5 vs Utah (117-137 W)

Three’s a streak! The smattering of the Jazz will be remembered for a while, especially when seven players scored in double digits. Deni led the way with a 33/8/9 stat line, while having 22 points by the half. Shaedon was the only other Blazer to score more than 20, notching 29 on 11/19 shooting, making 5 threes, dishing out 7 assists, and collecting 5 rebounds. It’s great to see him play a more complete game, on top of his lob dunks, which came a plenty tonight. He’s taken the step we’ve needed from him, not only to prove that he can grow, but to show he’s the guy we thought he’d be. Shaedon is a human highlight reel in the air, which is why we took him with the 7th overall pick. Injuries have forced him to become more reliable, and he seems to have risen to the occasion. Coming off a grueling game against San Antonio, this was a welcome treat: a 21-point halftime lead. Once Walker Kessler got injured a few weeks into the season, this Utah team was trying to be slightly competitive. Lauri Markkanen, missing 10 games, hasn’t helped either. But they are bound for the lottery again, and another season wasted with real talent. Maybe Danny Ainge can turn things around as he did with the Celtics, but the odds are low if recent history has taught us anything. Blazers used this game as a stopgap between the Spurs and back-to-back home games against the Rockets. Looking forward to seeing this momentum continue against high competition.

Game #38 - 1/7 vs Houston (102-103 W)

Boy oh boy. What a finish to a game. Deni’s 41 points, alongside four others scoring double-digit points, were enough to get us past the combined 61 points from Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson. Although we briefly led by 11 near the end of the second quarter, Houston quickly scored at the start of the second half, keeping it within 7 points for the rest of the game. The officiating was, to say the least, notable, as there were a few calls both teams were frustrated by. None more than the foul Toumani “committed” on Durant with 1:09 left in the game. In classic fashion, the NBA reported during the postgame review that the foul was incorrectly called. Yes, it was his fifth foul at the time, but it would’ve changed the final minute as Toumani ended up fouling out 30 seconds later. Overall, the gameplan of letting Durant and Amen beat you but not letting anyone else is a decent strategy. Those two, plus Alperen Sengun when he’s on the floor, will get their buckets every night, so all you can do is slow them down. You can’t stop them. But limiting the likes of Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr, and Reed Sheppard is the goal. If you can stop the “others,” you can stop them from winning. We have a few “wins of note” this season, and tonight is definitely one of them. If we can repeat this kind of performance on Friday, it’s going to truly feel like this team has made a turn for the better.

Game #39 - 1/9 vs Houston (105-111 W)

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Back-to-back wins against one of the favorites in the West is massive. Yeah, Alperen Sengun was out for a second straight game, but a whole hand’s worth of wins, whilst being undefeated in 2026, is a massive accomplishment for this squad. A tightly contested game for roughly 85% of the game only saw Houston take a 13-point lead on an 18-5 run to end the third quarter. Once again, the third quarter is killing us. But fortunately, we opened Q4 on an 11-0 run over their first 3:00 of play. On Deni’s second free throw with 3:10 left in the game, we took the lead and never relinquished it. During that final 3:10, we went 9/9 from the free-throw line, which is a huge step in the right direction for this team that is averaging about 77% from the line. Not only that, we gave up only a single turnover and committed no fouls. Tiago is getting these guys to play tough when it matters. Something that seemed inconceivable when he was made Head Coach after opening night. He clearly is making the right decisions and growing as a coach alongside this team. Toumani led the way with 25 points, followed by Deni and Shaedon, both scoring 20, and Caleb scoring 18. We were able to limit both Durant and Amen from going nuclear again, allowing them to score 30 and 24, respectively. On top of that, Portland defended the three-ball well for a second straight game, allowing the Rockets to make just 22% Wednesday and 23% tonight. If we can keep this kind of defense, we’ll be right in the thick of the Western Conference soon.

Game #40 - 1/11 vs New York (123-114 L)

All good things eventually come to an end. And tonight was a night where the luck of a New Year’s run just ran out. A late-game 11-0 run by the Knicks was the difference in this one. During that run from 4:27 to 2:43 left in the fourth quarter, the Blazers coughed up three turnovers and surrendered three 3s and a steal leading to a layup. Basketball is a funny sport. One minute, you’re neck-and-neck in a game, the next you’re down 11 at home against a team you really maybe should’ve beaten. From that point on, the Knicks did what they do, smothering teams willing to let them back into the game. Each of the Knicks’ starters scored 18+ points, with their captain, Jalen Brunson, leading the way with 26. Deni led the Blazers in scoring, notching 25 points, with Shaedon and Caleb contributing 23 and 21 points. Tonight, we finally got Jrue Holiday back. He was on a minutes restriction, only playing for 16 minutes and scoring 8 points. But his presence is massive for this team. We’ve been able to have the likes of Sidy Cissoko, Caleb, and Rayan Rupert get real playing minutes, which means they should be able to slide back into reserve roles knowing that if they’re hot, they’ll stay on the court. Once we get Jerami Grant back, we’ll have the majority of the team who started the season healthy back on the floor. This loss was a bummer, but we got one step closer to being a healthier unit, which is more important for the season as a whole.

Pinwheel of the Week
Unsurprisingly, Deni is back as our POW. On top of leading the team in scoring, he’s currently 3rd in clutch-time points and leads the league in clutch assists. This man is doing everything possible when he’s on the court, and it’s not just showing up in the box score, but it’s showing up in the locker room and off the court. There’s a reason he’s doing well in All-Star voting — he’s showing the league why he’s a foundational piece to the only team in the Pacific Northwest.

Record: 3-1 (19-21)

Week 13 Games: Tue 1/13 @ Golden State, Thu 1/15 vs Atlanta, Sat 1/17 vs LA Lakers, Sun 1/18 @ Sacramento

Week 11: A New Year's Resolution to Winning Basketball

A 3-1 week with two of those wins coming to kickoff 2026 is what you like to see. Deni is continuing to showcase why he’s a wrecking ball, not only in the Western Conference but in the NBA as a whole. He lands as the Western Conference Player of the Week, where his assists led to a league-leading 107 points. He’s doing more than just scoring points and shooting free throws. He’s making this team better as a whole. With Jrue hopefully coming back next week, he can use any help he can get to lighten the load. We’re playing a bit more disciplined, even if we’re still missing free throws… I don’t know if Splitter is using the end of the calendar year as a benchmark, but it’s starting to feel like we’ve turned to a new chapter in this season’s book. We’re playing better and getting more wins. Who could be upset at good Blazer basketball?

Game #33 - 12/29 vs Dallas (122-125 W)

Two in a row? Sure, why not? Although Deni was a rebound away from a triple-double, Caleb Love made two massive threes late in the game to help us overcome Dallas in the last game of our 5-game homestand. I’ll say it again: I don’t understand how this kid, who played on superb UNC and Arizona teams, went undrafted. Fortunately for the Blazers, they have Mike Schmitz, who knows a thing or two about scouting basketball players. Obviously, a two-way player is not the most likely to drastically impact a team’s season, but with the guards who have been injured, he’s done a great job showing why he deserves an NBA contract. So much so that as of this point, he’s led all two-way players in points. Clingan and Shaedon were the only other two to score in double digits tonight, with 18 and 24, respectively. Portland’s defense has been playing better as of late, only allowing one team in the six games to score more than 120. Something that hasn’t been the case in December. We did allow six Mavericks to score in double digits, so there are still ways to improve, but overall, beating a Dallas team that has absolutely no direction. These close games resulting in victories are massive for this young team. If we can keep putting ourselves in a position to win, it proves we can pull them out.

Game #34 - 12/31 @ Oklahoma City (95-124 L)

The win against OKC back in November feels like a distant memory. After scoring the first points of the game, the Thunder quickly took control. This was the healthiest stretch of the Thunder’s season, with their big three starting at tip-off. To put this game in perspective, we were without Jrue and Jerami, and OKC had no one out. Every player on the Thunder who logged minutes had a positive +/-. On top of that, we surrendered 15 steals and 10 blocks, while committing 24 turnovers. This is a classic “forget it and move on” game. Nothing went right for this team, and we got outgunned from the jump. The Thunder are the juggernauts in the West, and one can safely assume they will compete for the team from the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. One of the few highlights of the game came from Shaedon, who stole a bad Aaron Wiggins pass and slammed it over him and Lou Dort. Blazers have the Pelicans as their first game in 2026, and have a chance to right their wrongs against a bad, bad team.

Game #35 - 1/2 @ New Orleans (122-109 W)

A New Year means a new mentality. And that new mentality is winning. Who cares that we smoked the Pelicans in New Orleans? Who cares that we gave up 35 points to Zion Williamson? What matters is that we committed only nine turnovers and had a 22-point lead with 5:35 left in the game. Deni scored 35 with 11 assists on 10/19 shooting, followed by Shaedon with 22 points on 9/18 shooting, and Caleb scoring 22 points on 6/11 from deep. We out-everything’d the Pelicans: better shooting, rebounds, assists, turnovers, and fouls committed. The Pelicans are continuing their run as the NBA's most dysfunctional franchise. At least Charlotte is figuring out how to win with a young core, and Utah has real players. New Orleans is making insane decisions in the draft and has yet to commit to a decision with Zion, who is one of the biggest “what if” players of this century. So the fact that we got boatraced by them three weeks ago is inexcusable. So getting a comfortable win against them in revenge is a fantastic way to kick off 2026.

Game #36 - 1/3 @ San Antonio (115-110 W)

No Wemby, no problem. This San Antonio team is still good without their best player, and Portland took advantage of his absence with stellar games from Deni, Toumani, and Clingan. Happy 25th birthday to Deni, who notched the 10th birthday triple-double (29/10/10), and the first since Luka did so on his 25th birthday back on Feb 28, 2024. Toumani hasn’t been lighting up the box score as of late, so it’s great to see him score 20 points on 7/11 shooting (5/9 from three-point) and collect eight rebounds. Clingan added 24 points and 12 rebounds, with 3 threes in the first 2:25 minutes of the game. To put this in perspective, he made 2 threes in his 74 games at UConn. This is a significant growth area for a big man not known for his deep-ball accuracy. This was a good grind-em-out game, with a 15-point lead midway through Q2, before the Spurs made a late run and got the game to four points at halftime. Although Caleb Love missed some late-game free throws, he didn’t let that get to him when he was able to stay focused defensively and get us the win. A lot of positives to take from this game, the most being that even though we still miss more free throws than we should, we don’t let it get to us, and we can compete and win tight games.

Pinwheel of the Week
Deni wins the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week, so it only makes sense for him to win my made-up award, too! Posting an almost triple-double this week, with 26.8p/8.3r/9.8a will get it done, especially when your team has a 3-1 week. At this point, he’s gotta be a lock for an All-Star Reserve spot. Yes, that may not be very objective, but he’s the main reason we’re winning most of these games.

Record: 3-1 (16-20)

Week 12 Games: Mon 1/5 vs Utah, Wed 1/7 vs Houston, Fri 1/9 vs Houston, Sun 1/11 vs New York

Week 10: Weathering the Winter Blues

The last whole week of games in 2025 went about as one might expect for the Blazers. Three losses, where two of them were within our grasp but we fell short, one kinda blowout, and an outstanding, hard-nosed win. A lot of guys stepped up this week, though the results weren’t the most successful. All I seem to be able to take from this week is progress. Progress in Tiago's improvement as a head coach, the team progressing towards more consistent and competitive play from tip-off to final buzzer, and progress in this organization's identity. The progress of this team this week is worth noting, as they were able to identify the issue and address it (for the most part). But if we can use this week as a sample for 2026, we have a real chance to make a late run in competitiveness.

Game #29 - 12/22 vs Detroit (110-102 L)

There’s nothing quite like a late-game surge coming up just a bit short. Detroit has rekindled its tough-mindedness that brought them a championship in the early 00s with a ferocious defense and bullyball style. The likes of Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah “Beef Stew” Stewart will bruise up anyone and everyone who tries to score. At the same time, Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, and Tobias Harris will torch you offensively. The Pistons had quite a balanced scoring effort with six players scoring double digits, with both Ausar and Jalen recording double-doubles. They know how to smother teams, which is why they’re atop the Eastern Conference. They forced 19 turnovers and out-rebounded the Blazers by 10. Although they committed six more fouls, they don’t foul lightly. This led to 43 free throw attempts, but sadly, we haven’t been good at them, shooting 29/43 from the charity stripe. Shaedon led the team in scoring and, unfortunately, in turnovers. But Sidy Cissoko is still making the most of the minutes he’s being given. He was the only player to have a positive +/- and shoot well from the free throw line (10/13). Although we’re coming off a three-game win streak, this definitely wasn’t a shocking result. To lose to one of the best teams in the league is not disappointing when you were behind 97% of the game. All we can do is hope to be more competitive against Orlando.

Game #30 - 12/23 vs Orlando (110-106 L)

More competitive? Sure. Better result? No. Not only did we lose a competitive game at home, but we once again started slow after halftime. I’m not sure what specifically needs to change, but we cannot keep doing this. Yes, we ultimately outscored Orlando in the second half, but we can’t rely on end-of-game heroics night after night. Deni bounced back from a poor shooting night with 25 points, and Shaedon continued his positive scoring growth with 22 points. Tonight, Caleb Love stepped up off the bench with 17 points on 7/13 shooting. It’s great to see someone like him, on a two-way contract, step up like this and make the most of his opportunity. Sadly, our guards aren’t the healthiest, and we got outmanned by Desmond Bane (23 points) and Anthony Black (22 points). We were outshot 28% to 45% on three-point shooting, which is typically where we lose these games. Obviously, some of our offensive threats behind the arc, like Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday, have been in and out of the lineup over the last month, which has led to a lack of three-ball success. Guys like Kris Murray, Caleb Love, and Rayan Rupert need to step it up in that category. Each is shooting between 32% and 25%, but for them to become valuable to this team, this is a spot where they can step it up. As 2025 comes to a close, I’m hoping we can make some changes to affect 2026 positively. We can still make the Play-In, an extremely reasonable goal for a team plagued by injuries.

Game #31 - 12/26 vs LA Clippers (119-103 L)

Every game this week, we’ve improved. This time, we actually led for the majority of the game! But when Brook Lopez hits 9/14 from deep, and the team as a whole shoots 50% (20/40), you don’t have a high chance of pulling out a win. In addition to his 31 points, James Harden and Kawhi scored 34 and 28 points, respectively. This Clippers team has so many question marks because of its deep history of injuries. But if Kawhi is healthy and able to play real, consistent minutes, they are an incredibly potent offensive team who can compete with anyone. Especially when someone like Brook Lopez is feeling it from beyond the arc. The Blazers were able to hold every other Clipper to eight or fewer points, but it clearly wasn’t enough. Neither was Deni’s performance. He was a rebound and assist short of a triple-double with a 29/9/9 stat line. Toumani was the most effective offensive player, aside from scoring 20 points on 5/11 from three-point range. This was one of those games where LA just outmanned us. We got beat by a team that had a better collection of players than ours. It’s unfortunate because they started the season so poorly that we are losing our lead in the standings to them with this loss. But if we’re able to get things together and continue this slow progress of getting players back, we have a chance to maintain our spot in the Play-In.

Game #32 - 12/28 vs Boston (108-114 W)

The stat of this game is the 11 lead changes. But ultimately, we took the lead midway through the third quarter and never let it go. A productive Q3 for the Blazers is not something common this season, but it was necessary to beat this shockingly good Boston Celtics team. It was an impressive offensive performance from Portland, where all the double-digit scorers scored 18+ points. Shaedon led the way with 26, but Deni (24pts and 10 ast) and Clingan (18pts and 18rbs) both had double-doubles. Tonight’s offense just felt efficient with who was taking the shots. Our main guys made the shots they were supposed to make, which hasn’t always been the case this season. And although we have continued not to be a great free-throw shooting team, it didn’t end up being our downfall. This was a great win and mood boost for a heavily injured team. And to top things off, Anfernee Simons didn’t light us up in his first game in Portland as an away player. Hope we can use this momentum to close out 2025.

Pinwheel of the Week
This week, there wasn’t a consensus POW, but for the sake of the lone win, I’m going to give it to Deni. He had the highest +/- against the Celtics while shooting 50% from the floor. When he’s cookin’, the entire team feeds off of it, and I know that’s what happened against Boston. Both Shaedon and Caleb were close, but I think Deni’s overall performance this week got him the award.

Record: 1-3 (13-19)

Week 11 Games: Mon 12/29 vs Dallas, Wed 12/31 @ Oklahoma City, Fri 1/2 @ New Orleans, Sat 1/3 @ San Antonio

Week 9: A Light Week to Light the Beam

The month of December has been weird for the NBA schedule with the NBA Cup and the Christmas holiday games. So a two-game week is much needed for all the injuries this team has incurred. It helps a lot when you win both games. Deni is a bona fide stud, and if it wasn’t for him, this team might have 10 wins with all the players we’ve lost the last month. But he’s here, and our team is slowly getting healthier. The thing that will determine our success is not our health, but whether Splitter makes good decisions. He has shown flashes of positivity and competency, but the only way he gets the job for next year is if he can get us into the Play-In and then into the playoffs. We’re a third of the way through this season, and the jury isn’t out yet on Splitter.

Game #27 - 12/18 vs Sacramento (133-134 OT W)

A classic grind-em-out game against a team we should definitely beat. Sacramento has no identity since losing Domantas Sabonis, outside of living and dying by Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan. But an 18-point lead with 4:25 left to then only win by one point is an abomination. I’m aware that the state of the NBA promotes players shooting threes, allowing teams to make up larger deficits quicker, but this is so bad for a team that’s spent the last few seasons focusing on defense under Billups. Games like this showcase why Splitter might not be the guy. Toumani fouling out with 3:50 left in the game clearly was the difference. He had four fouls in the fourth quarter. You cannot have your best defensive player making those kinds of decisions that late in the game. It allowed the Kings to end regulation on a 22-6 run, where DeMar made two massive threes, one of which sent the game to overtime. Fortunately, we have Deni Avdija, who can make free throws with the best of them. But if it weren’t for him, we would’ve lost this game, only to see the Kings in Sacramento on Saturday. Hopefully, this is a lesson in how to approach late-game large leads for Splitter because we cannot keep sucking ourselves into these kinds of situations.

Game #28 - 12/20 @ Sacramento (98-93 W)

Three’s a streak! We led 91% of the game and held the Kings to 6/31 from three-point range. You can’t be much happier in a win. Deni led the way with 24 points and 11 assists, with Shaedon adding 23 points. This was a more balanced offensive performance for Portland, with five players scoring in double digits and eight players taking 5+ shots. Our missed free throws are still a problem: we missed 8, going 17/25. I genuinely don’t understand how this has been a storyline this season. Maybe it’s because we don’t have Anfernee Simons anymore to set that stage, but you’d think with Lillard on the team and able to talk to guys about free throws, this team would be better. Outside of the victory, the best moment of the game was Shaedon baptising Westbrook on a nasty dunk. Sheadon has already made a name for himself in his dunking and jumpability, but man, oh man, is he something special when he gets a step on someone.

Pinwheel of the Week
It’s once again Deni. He came in clutch in both games, leading the way in points and pressure free throws at the end of the game. He’s a guaranteed All-Star this year unless he gets hurt. He is the de facto best player and leader of this team. It’s going to take an off week or a superstar performance for someone to take him over.

Record: 2-0 (12-16)

Week 10 Games: Mon 12/22 vs Detroit, Tue 12/23 vs Orlando, Fri 12/26 vs LA Clippers, Sun 12/28 vs Boston