Week 5

We’re back on track to #CapturingTheFlagg after an undefeated week. It featured two not-so-great losses and an excellent win on a back-to-back to end the week. If someone were to say that after 17 games, this team would be 7-10, I think we’d all be surprised. Clingan is posting MONSTER numbers and is only proving to doubters why we took him #7 overall. I think it’s safe to say that Ayton being out is NOT hindering his development as he continues to block everyone and amass tons of rebounds.

Game 15 - 11/20 @ Oklahoma City (109-99 L)

Good things don’t last forever (especially with this squad). And coming across the Thunder will do that to a team. As much as we had hope in the first half against this juggernaut – jumping out to an early 10-point lead in Q1 – reality hit us hard and fast. This game was tightly contested until Jalen Williams and SGA took over late in the fourth. As much as this game wasn’t on the list of “winnable games,” it was nice to see our ability to compete with a high-caliber team like OKC. Last week featured a lack of points and a lot of rebounds/blocks from Clingan, so it was great to see him get some points and continue to thrive on the defensive side sans Ayton. 24 turnovers won’t win you any games, so the Blazers need to clean it up if they want more W’s.

Game 16 - 11/22 @ Houston (116-88 L) NBA Cup Group Play Game 2

Simply put, getting outscored every quarter will not result in any victories. Statistically, that’s how it works. The only real positive to this game was getting Anfernee back from injury. Otherwise, the Rockets outplayed us in every capacity. This Rockets team is feisty, especially if Dillon Brooks is in a groove and his high-octane villain mode. We move to 1-1 in West Group A but have a -11 differential, so unless we win out and Houston gets smoked, we most likely will not move to the next round. The Blazers did the right thing with this game, giving minutes to EVUHREEONE. The only people who didn’t play were Ayton and Scoot, who had a new quad injury. BUT, seeing Clingan record a franchise-setting 16 consecutive games with a block is incredible, especially when this breaks the late, great Bill Walton’s previous record of 15.

Game 17 - 11/23 @ Houston (104-98 W)

There's nothing like back-to-back games against the same team to get you back on track. Too bad it wasn’t the NBA Cup game we won. But beggars can’t be choosers! Seeing Jerami, Ant, and Shaedon all score 22+ points is exactly what this team needs. That and Clingan posting a hilarious 0-point 19-rebound box score. The man was on a mission, and I’m sure it wasn’t posting crazy stats like this. Clingan has continued his streak of blocks to 17 to start a career, only behind Alonzo Mourning, Shaq, and Pau Gasol—quite the company. Overall, it was beautiful to see the bounce-back result from the Blazers, especially with it close late. I might be turning my opinion of Chauncey as a coach, and it seems like he’s starting to see these guys hustle, play together, and not give up down the stretch.

Record: 1-2 (7-10)

Next Week’s Games: 11/25 @ Memphis, 11/27 @ Indiana, 11/29 vs Sacramento (NBA Cup), 12/1 vs Dallas

Week 4

To say Week 3 ended on a sour note is an understatement. The team looked horrible. Billups called out the team for being dreadful. And nothing is exciting to look forward to this week as we get Minnesota twice and a feisty Atlanta team. But who would’ve thunk we’d not only win our first NBA Cup game but smack the crap out of the TWolves, who just thumped us TWICE IN A ROW!? And these wins without Ayton or Simons. I’ve been saying it since the beginning, and I still believe it to be accurate, that we need to ditch Ayton and let ClingKong cook in the paint. He still has a lot to learn, but he loves defense. What more could you ask for, not just growth from this young team but an undefeated week featuring our bright future Blazers?

Game 12 - vs. Minnesota 11/12 (122-108 W) NBA Cup Group Play Game 1

The NBA Cup just means more. That is the most apparent thing after tonight’s game that featured the first start for Clingan, a monster night from Robert “Time Lord” Williams III, and an early exit for Simons. Not only did we play wonderfully as a team, but we shot *checks notes* 15/23 through the 3rd quarter from three before finishing 18/32 for the game. This is coming from the team who just shot 4/42 on Sunday. What a turnaround! I don’t know what exactly was the spark: Williams III finally looking like his old self, Billups reaming the team for their piss-poor performance, or maybe it was just The Emarites NBA Cup and the NBA’s best alternate court.

Game 13 - vs Minnesota 11/13 (106-98 W)

We’re back and beating Minnesota on back-to-back nights. Maybe we could have guessed an exceptional performance from Clingan during his second start, or perhaps it was because it was Donovan Clingan's limited-edition pint glass night. We’ll never know, but 8 blocks is why we picked him #7 in the 2024 NBA Draft. He’s on quite the tear right now with 13 straight games with a block to start a career and is joining some elite company. Clingan was the big story of the evening, but there is nothing better than seeing Shaedon Sharpe back from injury and looking elite. He took the lead with Simons still injured and had almost double the next highest-scoring Blazer with 33 points, also logging the most minutes in the game. He is a difference-maker, and his intangibles are starting to show.

Game 14 - vs Atlanta 11/17 (114-110 W)

Is this the Shaedon Sharpe everyone was talking about? This man is rude in the best ways possible for Rip City. He doesn’t give up on a play. He’ll thrash your face under the rim on a dunk. He even has a step-back reminiscent of the letter O. It’s clear he’s a stud; it’s just taken some time for him to be healthy enough to show it to The League. Although each W we collect puts us further from “Capturing the Flagg,” Shaedon, paired with Clingan and Scoot, is the future of this franchise. He balls, man, and it’s such a nice breath of fresh air to see someone who was a question mark of a prospect turn into a foundational piece for a young, rebuilding team. There are many things to figure out with the Blazer roster, but Shaedon is quickly becoming an unquestioned pillar.

Record: 3-0 (6-8)

Next Week’s Games: 11/20 @ Oklahoma City, 11/22 @ Houston (NBA Cup), 11/23 @ Houston

Week 3

“We’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em” is probably what people are saying about the Blazers. They look competent enough to keep games competitive (minus the 3rd quarter) and bolster the value of the “trade deadline guys.” This team was destined for the top of the lottery with their lack of 3-point defense and mix of youth and veteran players. If the OKC mold of collecting picks like Thanos and utilizing them to figure out a team that can compete at a higher level in the next 2-5 years, this team is slowly trending towards that outcome. Although there hasn’t been enough proof in the pudding to prove it’s working.

Game 8 - @ New Orleans 11/4 (118-100 W)

Has Dalano Banton arrived? Most likely not, but he did outscore the entire Pelicans roster in the 4th quarter. So that’s something. But seeing this team emphatically pull away in a wire-to-wire game against a beatable team was incredibly encouraging. Somehow, the Blazers keep figuring out how to keep things close with this New Orleans team and would be 3-0 if it weren’t for a Brandon Ingram buzzer-beater. They played like a team and didn’t create too many forced errors – something looming over this team the last few seasons. This type of basketball is enjoyable to watch in Rip City, and hopefully, we can see more of it this season.

Game 9 - @ San Antonio 11/7 (105-118 L)

It was the first iteration of the Clingan Castle Cup, and Castle emphatically won. Donovan Clingan is in a tough spot with the Blazers as he’s not getting the necessary minutes to really gain the experience needed to fit into the NBA quickly. It probably doesn’t help that Ayton isn’t an ideal role model based on how the media and other players view him, so hopefully, there is some movement with him so Clingan can slot into the starting role, fitting the direction of this team’s future. Clingan has moments of showing his worth with his offensive rebounding, but until he’s at the start of the show, he won’t get the crunchtime minutes he thrived in during his time at UConn.

Game 10 - @ Minnesota 11/8 (127-102 L)

It only took 4+ minutes for the Blazers to score their first points in Minneapolis, which is a good summation of this game. Anthony Edwards took over from the jump by scoring 37 points while sitting out the entire 4th quarter. It was a haranguing, to say the least. There weren’t a lot of positives from this game other than the fact that we’re actually starting to see the losses stack up and that Robert Williams actually saw playing time. As I said previously, it’s hard to root for your team when you know they’re supposed to lose. But it’s good to see this team isn’t competitive against the teams who should win. We are still very much in the realm of shoveling out trade pieces, so seeing those guys get minutes, even in losses, is excellent.

Game 11 - vs Memphis 11/10 (134-89 L)

There’s nothing like back-to-back routings from top-tier teams. Billups was not coy with his response to the Blazers loss on Sunday. It was embarrassing indeed, Chauncey. As much as you’d think the absence of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane would have a positive result for the Blazers, it was not that. There’s been a recent shift in the NBA when star players sit for a game. The teams don’t see the effect as much. And that’s what happened – the Grizzlies demolished the Blazers and even had Rip City rooting for Japanese National Team breakout sensation Yuki Kawamura. It was a sight to behold. There isn’t much to root for in Portland other than losses, so you might as well root for the other team to score, right?

Record: 1-3 (3-8)

Next Week’s Games: 11/12 vs Minnesota, 11/13 vs Minnesota (NBA Cup), 11/17 vs Atlanta

Week 2

How are we feeling after the first week of games? Honestly, better than expected. Although I’m on team #FailForFlagg, it’s tough to root against the team you care for so deeply. And as much as I’d love for the Blazers to have the best chance for the No. 1 pick in next season’s draft, I’d rather see a competitive team – precisely what we’re getting. Yes, we enter the second week with an expected losing record, but we somehow look less feeble than anticipated.

Game 4 - @ Sacramento 10/28 (111-98 L)

The first road game of the season is upon us, and it's against an assumed playoff-bound Kings team who've added DeMar DeRozan. As much as the Kings are a team that should be fighting for a top-6 spot in the West, this team is still very much a question mark. Once again, we kept it competitive until late into the 3rd quarter. Ayton is the first Blazer since Bill Walton to record four straight double-doubles to start a season. So that’s encouraging to see from him. The one thing I've noticed with this team is the disparity between the first and second rotations. They aren’t too different. Grant, Avdeji, and Simons are significantly better than the likes of Walker, Rupert, and Clingan, but the team's flow seems to take much less of a hit than one might think. They seem to be clicking more and are willing to believe that this lineup has the chance to succeed. That’s genuinely the only way to get these young guys to think they can impact the game. These close losses prove that the strategy Billups is employing is working.

Game 5 - @ LA Clippers 10/30 (106-105 W)

Would you look at that? The Clippers look like a medium-bad team without Kawhi Leonard. As much as one can discredit the Clippers for being a complete disaster of a team, the Blazers put together a solid win. They didn’t blink when the game got tight and collectively fought until the end. As the leader he is, Simons put the team on his back late in the game to ultimately get the W for the Blazers. On top of Simons helping the team pull away late, everyone contributed wonderfully: Avdeji, Henderson, and Camara recorded double-digit points. Avdeji is starting to showcase his defensive prowess with the late block on Norman Powell with 29 seconds left in regulation to seal the game, essentially. We hope to see these types of games throughout the season because they show their desire to fight and not give up.

Game 6 - vs Oklahoma City 11/1 (137-114 L)

Another blowout loss in the books. Oklahoma City is supposed to grow off the No. 1 West seed they received last year, so this result is, sadly, not unexpected. Over the previous eight-ish seasons, basketball has proved that no lead (unless it’s one of those 40-point leads) is too great to overcome. Down 17 points early in the 2nd quarter, the Blazers went on a nice run to end the first half to take a three-point lead just before Jalen Williams sunk one with five seconds left. Avdeji is proving to be a quality off-season pickup, as he played the most prominent role in the run. Ultimately, it came up short with OKC being OKC. The Thunder kept the Blazers close through the first few minutes but then hit the gas and entered the final quarter with a 21-point lead. These are the games where Billups can test the guys' resilience as they played hard only to get smoked. It’s still promising to see them come back from a large deficit.

Game 7 - @ Phoenix 11/2 (103-97 L)

Well, that was quite the roller coaster! Phoenix, a team expected to vie for the top spot in the West, kept this one surprisingly close. Although the Blazers had the halftime lead, they gave up 44 points in the 3rd quarter. As a lifelong fan, the 3rd quarter has never seemed the best for us. We tend to let a lead against a team we should demolish slip or fall even further behind a team with the upper hand. But the fact we didn’t let that deter our mentality from fighting back was incredible. Billups is doing a better job with this team than during his first three seasons because we haven’t rallied late normally, but he seemed to give up. One of the stats I’ve been disappointed to see with the Blazers over the last few years is the assist numbers. We just aren’t passing the ball around enough. 17 assists is not great, even though the team is focusing on the kick-out threes more this season. This game was still an excellent benchmark for competing, especially after the blowout against the Thunder, and we all hope to see it continue.

Record: 1-3 (2-5)

Next Week’s Games: 11/4 @ New Orleans, 11/7 @ San Antonio, 11/8 @ Minnesota, 11/10 vs Memphis

Preseason + Week 1

The NBA is back, and so are new expectations for Portland. At least, that’s what fans, like myself are hoping for. It’s tough to believe there will be much difference in the 2024-25 season than any other during the Chauncey Billups era, but that’s why we’re all here, right? To believe our false fantasies will come true. But if there’s anything to look forward to, it’s the chemistry that Donovan Clingan, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe can build as this franchise's *hopeful* future.

As a Portlander whose earliest memories of Blazer fandom include sobbing after a playoff loss to the Lakers at age 4, I’m qualified to provide my passionate opinions about this team. I’ve been here for Dame playoff winners and the laziest PG to ever grace this team—Raymond Felton. There are so many memories around this team, and it’s built a sports foundation that will drive my future children insane.

My goal is to provide a diehard fan’s perspective. If you’re looking for in-depth stats, then you should look elsewhere. We’re here for vibes and honest feelings. Are we gonna call for Chauncey’s head, get pissed at ownership, and put every player on the team through the wringer? Heck yeah. I will try putting my feelings to the keyboard and give you a Three-Goggled Perspective on the 2024-25 season.

Enough about me. Let’s dive into the presumed expectations of this year’s team and MY expectations as the team moves forward. As the season progresses, I will most likely add some categories and things to highlight. But first, let’s examine the team movements before the season.

Offseason Moves

Although we were disappointed to drop to the 7th pick in the draft this summer, we caught a break with every other team, seemingly not wanting the back-to-back UCONN National Champion Center, Donovan Clingan. He’s an absolute monster on the boards and can body most every big. Maybe he’ll get some pointers from Duop on how to knock down the three-ball to slightly stretch the floor. He, combined with the trade for Deni Avdija, made draft night not the most eventful but resulted in a net-positive rating. Avdija brings up the floor for this team (something that’s sadly not too difficult) and provides some necessary defense and playmaking. His time in Washington allowed him to score, so we’ll gladly take some of that load off Scoot, Anfernee Simons, and Jerami Grant.

The presumed expectation of this team is bottom dweller, once again. And as much as that’s a bummer to know for any team that holds your heart, it’s what’s best for the franchise. OKC has created a model that if you suck and accumulate enough draft picks, some of them will have to pan out. That, plus the comradery of growing together, will HOPEFULLY create a positive atmosphere for this team as they build towards something. What is that something? That is, remarkably, TBD.

Game 1 – vs. Golden State 10/23 (140-104 L)

Welp, we’re off and cooking. And by cooking, we got roasted by Chef Curry and Co. Not only that, but there was also a stat correction, so the 35-point loss became a 36-point loss – something we love to see. Considering this was the first chance to see a starting roster competitive game, it went about as expected. Jerami is clearly our best and most polished player. Ayton had minimal moments of dominating. Clingan looked like a rookie. And Scoot lost his rec-specs but kept his tunnel vision. There wasn’t much to be excited about during this game other than watching Draymond get his first tech of the season and seeing Deni suit up in Blazer threads. We got to see Chauncey not start Scoot (which I don’t hate) and see a lot of youth in the blowout loss.

Game 2 – vs. New Orleans 10/25 (105-103 L)

We’re back in the Moda Center (RIP Rose Garden) and lost a heartbreaker to the Pelicans. There is a lot to be optimistic about, considering we were leading up until the 4th quarter. But, as expected, we couldn’t close it out. The last few seasons of the NBA have gained the narrative of runs and 3-point shooting. This means you aren’t ever out of a game until the final minutes. Sadly, the Blazers haven’t been on the right side of these runs, resulting in wins. Although there weren’t many games where we held a significant lead late into the 4th quarter, we did squander a lot of late leads last season. And tonight was no different. Yes, there was some excellent playmaking, and Jerami was hitting from everywhere. We lost the rebound battle when it mattered late and turned the ball over 19 times too many. Brandon Ingram hit a nice mid-range jumper to beat us, but we had a chance to win and put up a terrible shot at the buzzer. The lone bright spot had nothing to do with the team but with a dude sporting a BRoy jersey who hit a half-court shot to win a car during halftime.

Game 3 – vs. New Orleans 10/27 (125-103 W)

We’re back, baby (for at least one game). This is the Blazers team that’s fun to watch. All five starters scored double digits, and a handful of others filled up the stat sheet. We’re continuing to see Chauncey not start Scoot, which I believe is a positive for the team. Toumani Camara somehow has become the best asset out of the 2023 draft, which we acquired during the Phoenix/Ayton trade. I hope he continues to blossom as a rangy wing willing to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league. There is still a lot of chemistry to be built within this team, especially when Shaedon and Matisse return from injury. However, seeing them close out a game within their grasp two nights previous is remarkable resilience. I think Chauncey is still a big ole question mark as a coach for this team, but this season is truly his “make or break” on his tenure as a head coach. If he can turn certain losses into close losses, that would be considerably better than we saw last year.

Record: 1-2

Next Week’s Games: 10/28 @ Sacramento, 10/30 @ LA Clippers, 11/1 vs. Oklahoma City, 11/2 @ Phoenix