Week 8-9

With the NBA Cup bracket portion of the tournament concluding during Week 8, I combined this post with Week 9 since there wasn’t much happening. Discussing two games would’ve been a bit sad. Right? Well, how about four games that resulted in just one win? The one win was pretty sick, though, especially coming against the Nuggets. Lots to think about when it comes to this roster, with the trade deadline roughly 7 weeks away. Hopefully, we can keep the young core and get more youth + draft picks from any trades. Who knows what Jody Allen will do, hopefully, sell the team to give us some actual direction. (That’s a topic for a new day).

Game #25 - 12/13 @ San Antonio (118-116 L)

What an utter disappointment. A substantial Q4 lead of 105-88 with 8:18 left, only for the Spurs to go on an 11-0 run spanning 3 minutes. We scored a whopping 11 points in the final 5:10 to lose by two measly points. This team is… something. I would love to believe they can hold their own in the 4th Quarter (because we’ve seen it happen), but they disappoint at new levels with this one. Unsure what it was this time, but the loss to a solid San Antonio team is a bummer. Yeah, it helps the tanking odds, but winning this game would’ve felt nice. Jerami was COOKING from deep, though, which was terrific. And a Jabari start to give the young guy some confidence (as a CU Buff fan) had to be a boost.

Game #26 - 12/15 @ Phoenix (116-109 L)

An above-average Q3 gave us hope for a brief moment. Otherwise, the Suns constantly controlled this game. Nothing truly stood out for the Blazers during this game besides being outmatched by a team that should’ve won by 15+. Somehow, we only lost by 7. Jerami must think, “Get me out of here and on a contender.” He’s putting up solid numbers and looking the part, but he must just be “going through the motions.” He, Anfernee, and Time Lord are the most likely candidates to be moved during the trade deadline. If this team doesn’t look wildly different at the end of the season, then it’s a loss. At this point, the roster/coaching staff/ownership/really everything needs to change. Bottom of the barrel for the third straight year is frustrating, but I guess the lack of expectation is better than failing to meet a standard.

Game #27 - 12/19 vs Denver (126-124 W)

WELCOME TO THE ANFERNO!! What a performance Ant made on the floater to sink the Nuggets. After a handful of underwhelming performances from this squad, it was refreshing to see them beat a declining team like Denver. I don’t know exactly what’s happening with them, but they are NOT the same team that won the NBA Finals in 2023. Jokic is doing everything possible to win games, but you can’t have someone like him do 120% of things and expect to win. The Blazers have some grit when they want to instill it and have good enough players to win some of these games. It’s being able to put it all together to win. And it was clear that happened tonight. I would love to see this as a launching-off point for the team as they progress into the middle of the season. But sadly, we know what will happen: many more losses than wins.

Game #28 - 12/21 @ San Antonio (114-94 L)

Whomp whomp… What a bummer of a loss (again) to the Spurs. Nothing really to report from this game other than it being a letdown of a game after a thrilling game-winner from Anfernee. Wemby had 30 points and 10 rebounds to cap off a dominant performance. Shaedon is continuing to look exceptional, so that’s good. But this Blazer roster is so hot and cold. It’s insane to believe they can win games consistently when they have good performances and follow it up as if they had nothing really in the tank. This wasn’t even the case of a back-to-back. It was just another game. There's not a lot to think about after this loss than just moving on to the next one.

Record: 1-3 (9-19)

Next Week’s Games: 12/23 @ Dallas, 12/26 vs Utah, 12/28 vs Dallas

Week 7

Hello losses, my old friend. The right-hand column is quickly filling up, compared to the left, and it’s not as fun to watch this team accumulate just porous losses. With the New Year around the corner, trade rumors are happening, and you’d assume just about anyone on the Blazers is up for grabs, except for Scoot, Shaedon, and Clingan. That being said, time will tell when this roster looks nothing like its current state. Maybe we’ll get some wins in December. Perhaps we won’t. Either way, we’re headed for the lottery in 2025, and it’s time to embrace that reality 24 games into the season.

Game #22 - 12/3 @ LA Clippers (127-105 L) NBA Cup Group Play

Welp, that was fun while it lasted. It's definitely a bummer not to advance to the Quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, but it was a long shot from the jump, anyway. James Harden and Norman Powell came to play in a game that really only mattered for the Blazers. The Clippers had no shot of making it to the knockout round, but with a Portland win and some luck from a couple of other games, they would’ve moved on. As much as the two aforementioned players balled out, you can’t give up 51% from 3-point and expect to win any game. Pretty disappointing to see a squad that isn’t great defensively give up that kind of success in a game that was essentially do-or-die. Maybe we can rebound with a home trip against an equally pitiful Jazz team.

Game #23 - 12/6 vs Utah (144-99 L)

LOL, maybe not. What a tremendously lousy showing by the Portland Trail Blazers. (Yes, they deserve to be referred to their full name). I get that we aren’t a great team, but there is no way we’re outscored by 7+ points in each quarter by a team like the Utah freaking Jazz?!? We didn’t score 10 points until 4:27 left in Q1. How does that even happen? I have so many questions about this game, but the team should be embarrassed by this performance. There is only one positive to this game: Shaedon throws down the highest recorded vert on a dunk since tracking started last season. This is definitely a “forget it and move on” type of game for the Blazers. And let’s hope that’s what happens.

Game #24 - 12/8 @ LA Lakers (107-98 L)

It was another loss, but this time against a LeBron-less Lakers team. AD, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell wanted to ensure this wasn’t a trap game for the Lakers as they hosted Portland. Yeah, the first half was competitive, but once the second half started, it was nothing but purple and gold – they took the lead midway through Q2 and never relinquished it. Once again, the Blazers are bad on defense, which seems to be this team's personality. We have quality players that have quality offensive abilities, but we can’t seem to figure out the defense. Unsure if that’s a tactical thing or if we are just bad individually. Who knows. But we ended the week on a low note, having given up our 4th loss of four games in December. Hopefully, we can crawl out of this hole and become more competitive soon.

Record: 0-3 (8-16)

Next Week’s Games: 12/13 @ San Antonio, 12/15 @ Phoenix, 12/19 vs Denver, 21/21 @ San Antonio

Week 6

Another week, another win coming from NBA Cup Group Play. This Blazers team is clearly better than last season. Although it might not seem like it, they are doing more with less star power. Clingan (when healthy) is proving his worth as the #7 overall pick, Anfernee and Shaedon are back making plays, and our role players are playing their roles to a T. One can only assume we won’t have this squad come the All-Star Break, but seeing them compete and contend for a spot in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals is fun.

Game 18 - 11/25 @ Memphis (123-98 L)

Ja was back for the Grizzlies, and that showed in a dominant outing. A poor shooting performance (34/102) isn’t gonna get it done. With Clingan and Ayton both out, we had to resort to Time Lord down low, and it didn’t prove to be too threatening. Essentially, playing small-ball the whole game is tough when you’re going against JJJ and the ferocity of Ja Morant. This game was a bit of a taste of how we’d stack up against the more elite Western Conference teams, and it clearly went as we’d expect – a spanking. Definitely a “move onto the next one” kind of mentality.

Game 19 - 11/27 @ Indiana (121-114 L)

Another close loss is in the books. This team is clearly better than last season. This time last year, we were competitive, but there seemed to be games where there was nothing but crying and a massive performance gap. But this season is different. Is it the rag-tag-ness of this team? Is it the fact we aren’t in the shadow of the Dame trade? Maybe we are just playing basketball, and the guys are having… fun? At this point, the reason doesn’t matter. All that matters is we’re showing genuine progress. This Pacers team hopes to defend their Eastern Conference Finals appearance from last season, so staying within firing distance throughout the game is excellent.

Game 20 - 11/29 @ Sacramento (1115-106 W) NBA Cup

We ain’t done yet! How we keep winning these NBA Cup games befuddles me, but I’m not complaining. Dominayton was back in Sac-Town and gave us 26/9 on our way to a 2-1 record in West Group A. Sadly, we need some help to make it into bracket play because of the tie-breaker. The long and short of it is that we need to beat the Clippers and then hope OKC and Dallas lose so that we can get in based on a 3-1 record and not lose the tie-breaker. Or, we beat the pants off the Clippers and win by about 50 to secure a spot. It would be a massive W for this young squad if we could get into the quarterfinals and feel competitive. Like the Summer League Championship from two years ago, it might not be the most significant trophy, but it is a trophy.

Game 21 - 12/1 @ Dallas (137-131 L)

Sadly, Luka is too much to contain for the Blazers and the whole NBA. The League is always better when their stars are healthy, and it took an insurmountable effort from Anfernee only to lose by 6. The Mavericks got Luka back but were without Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and a few others in their win. As painful as it is to watch a team lose to another down all their stars, we did get this season’s first Anferno. With 24 of his 27 points in the 3rd quarter, watching him set the court ablaze is always a pleasure. One of these days, we’ll get a complete performance out of this team. Even though we saw 6 players score over 14 points, we didn’t have much production outside of that. It was encouraging to see Deni come through late on both sides of the ball, but overall, our defense is still trash, and any progress we see will only come if we step it up on that side of the ball.

Record: 1-3 (8-13)

Next Week’s Games: 12/3 @ LA Clippers (NBA Cup), 12/6 vs Utah, 12/8 @ LA Lakers

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