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