The cherry on top of this thumbs-down of a week was the win against Chicago. Definitely the most complete performance from the Blazers all week, with Scoot probably being the MVP of the week - highlighted by his 39-point performance against the Nets. He’s really coming into his own and proving his worth as the 3rd overall pick in last year’s draft. With guys like Jerami and Ayton not playing the best, their value is not helping their cause for being traded. Hopefully, things can pick up over the next couple of weeks.
Game #39 - 1/14 vs Brooklyn (132-114 L)
Please mark your calendars for Jan 14, 2026, when Scoot scores 40+, as this is when he reaches his maximum potential. It’s like a blood moon or something, and he evolves into Super Scoot. Not only were his 39 points a career-high, but he went 13/18 from the floor and (checks notes) 8/10 from deep!?! This man has clearly found his groove and is taking advantage of the shuffling of injuries on this Blazers roster and becoming a foundational piece of this offense. Yeah, we lost by 18 to the lowly Nets, but this season is not really about wins and losses; it’s about progress. And Scoot, baby, is making the progress we wanted. It’s still early, but we love to see this in Rose City.
Game #40 - 1/16 vs LA Clippers (118-89 L)
Another game, another blowout. The Clippers are a good team, so this isn’t disheartening. But it is a bummer to watch this team, who seem to be playing pretty well as a unit, lose this spectacularly to another team. It was an odd scoring night where Toumani and Ant were held scoreless, with Dalano Banton scoring 23 points. There's not much to take from this game besides an off night against a top-6 team in the West. We were overpowered from the tip, and the Clippers never looked back. We just got to move on to the next game, which is sadly against an (arguably) better team in Houston.
Game #41 - 1/18 vs Houston (125-103 L)
Welp, we held on longer than last game. Houston is one of the darlings of this season: taking the OKC formula and growing players from the draft with a little bit of veteran role-playing. Scoot came back into form, leading the Blazers in scoring with 21, with only four others scoring double-digit points. We got out-rebounded by 21, had 5 more turnovers, and committed 6 more fouls. Obviously, the TOs and fouls aren’t anything to scoff at, but getting out-rebounded by 21 is crazy in this day and age in the NBA. The League has too many bigs to let something like this happen. I hope Chauncey can coach the team on this and not let it happen again.
Game #42 - 1/19 vs Chicago (113-102 W)
After a smattering in the first quarter, the Blazers lead the entire second half. This is the kind of game you hope to see after getting squashed by two of the best in the West. Scoot, Dalano, and Deni all scored 20+ points, with Deni getting a triple-double and Ayton getting a double-double, scoring 15 and grabbing 13 boards. This again proved that Deni and Scoot are the foundational pieces of this team. Deni is coming to a team with at least a semblance of a direction (versus Washington) and fitting in almost too well. There is lots of positivity to end the week after losing by an average of 23 points in the other three games.
Record: 1-3 (14-28)
Next Week’s Games: 1/21 @ Miami, 1/23 @ Orlando, 1/24 @ Charlotte, 1/26 vs Oklahoma City