Week 20

What a week… ending a road trip with two losses to two good teams is what I expected, but I was still hoping to win one of them. Especially with some stars being sidelined. But last month, Chauncey has proven that he knows what he’s doing and that this team can compete, especially when Toumani wins Defensive Player of the Month. Have to believe the Suns are pounding sand for including him in the Ayton/Nurkic trade. But finally having a wing that can stop anyone is a blessing for the city of Portland. We haven’t had one in YEARS.

Game #62 - 3/3 @ Philadelphia (119-102 W)

Back to winning ways after a bummer of an OT loss against Cleveland. Philly’s only direction at this point is down, as they would owe OKC their 1st Round is top-6 protected. They currently sit at the 6th best odds for the #1 pick, so they’re trending the right direction, which means the Blazers coming to town and looking for a victory is good for both sides. Ant led the way in scoring with 34, and Clingan and Shaedon produced double-doubles. Overall, it was a solid team performance where we pushed the pedal to the metal in the second half, outscoring Philly 63-41. This was a great “warm-up” for the very competitive game against Boston, up next. Although it seems unlikely we’ll win either of these games, it would be great to steal one from two teams vying for a trip to the NBA Finals.

Game #63 - 3/5 @ Boston (128-118 L)

Honestly, lol. The fact we couldn’t stop the likes of Payton Pritchard and Derrick White is a bit sad, especially with our defense playing at a top-10 level. Yes, Pritchard might’ve had a bit of a “let me show up my home state’s team”, but no way did anyone predict an output of 41 points, 14/20 shooting, 10/16 from 3-point, and 10 assists. The fact that these two and not Tatum and Brown are the first Celtics duo to score 40+ in the same game is insane. Blazers put up a good fight with Ant scoring 30, Shaedon scoring 25, and Jabari scoring 22 on 8/8 shooting and 6/6 from 3-point. I love that he got into a rhythm tonight and got it going. One of the things it seems Chauncey is improving on during his tenure is letting hot guys stay hot, even if they’re bench guys. Dalano was hot last week, and Chauncey let it ride. Tonight, they kept feeding Bari, and he kept making them. It’s giving young guys confidence, and this team needs that since there are not a ton of vets present. Hopefully, we can shake this off and perform well against OKC.

Game #64 - 3/7 @ Oklahoma City (107-89 L)

Welp. Maybe the February magic ended last week. Or maybe, we just ran into a few good teams, and it is what it is. We only had three guys (Scoot, Shaedon, and Ant) score double-digit points. While OKC had six guys score double-digits, Jaylin Williams recorded a triple-double. This was tied for our lowest offensive total of the season, BUT we didn’t give up a ton to OKC, which can happen with how their offense is built. Sadly, this game didn’t feature Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Lou Dort. Another game against a top team resting some of their guys, where we had a chance to upset them on an off night, and we falter once again. This team is in the spot of “we can win this game even though we shouldn’t win this game,” it’s been tough to see us put up great performances against good teams and lose. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights. If anything, our direction is much clearer, and with a month left, we can still very much make the Play-In.

Game #65 - 3/9 vs Detroit (119-112 L)

What a frustrating game. I was fortunate to watch this one in person, and man, it felt like we were out of sync the whole time. Scoot was losing the ball every fourth possession for absolutely no reason. Jerami apparently only shoots 3s. And Doup seems more focused on making 3s than playing in the post. Fortunately, Ant’s step-back and floater game is as strong as ever, and we put up more than 110 against a top-5 defense. Yeah, every game has some bad calls, but for a home team to not get a few in their favor late in a game is a bit suspect even for a rigged officiating league like the NBA. It didn’t help that Toumani and Clingan got into foul trouble with a decent amount of time left in the game, but this was a winnable game that we’d love to get back. We were down the whole game, and Chauncey got these guys back into it a handful of times, which is excellent. The hope is that these kinds of games go our way next season. A small bright spot was Toumani obliterating Isaiah Stewart in the first half. Everyone in Moda was on their feet.

Record: 1-3 (28-37)

Next Week’s Games: 3/10 @ Golden State, 3/12 vs New York 3/16 vs Toronto

Week 19

What a start to a seven-game road trip. A week that should have come without a loss, they beat the teams they were supposed to and lost to a team they should have, albeit they should’ve beaten the Cavs. Chauncey, you have officially won me over for an extension. This is by far the most competent he has looked as a head coach in the NBA. He has these guys playing with a ton of heart and drive, not to give up. This team feels like the season's surprise; if things keep going as they are, we might have a chance at the play-in.

Game #58 - 2/24 @ Utah (114-112 W)

Once again, this team is showing its resilience. If this game had happened last year, we would’ve ended up losing by two vs winning by two. Keyonte George had our number in the fourth quarter, but his three at the buzzer allowed Rip City to exhale a sigh of relief. Five Blazers scored in double digits, with Anfernee leading the way with 28. Although not boasting big numbers offensively, Clingan fills in wonderfully for Ayton. He had the second-best +/-, only behind Deni (unsurprisingly). He is the future of our frontcourt, and he’s starting to show why he anchored UConn to two straight NCAA titles. There is still a long way to go for him, but the fact that he’s fitting in is a great sign. He will be a force alongside Scoot, Shaedon, and Deni in the coming years. And if Chauncey is coaching them like this, we might have something brewing in Portland.

Game #59 - 2/26 @ Washington (129-121 W)

Lordy lord lord… Shaedon Sharpe is a bad, bad man. On top of a win and a Deni reunion in DC, Shaedon might’ve just produced the best dunk of the season. I want to apologize to Justin Champagnie for all the air time he will get because of this dunk. He is quickly answering all the questions people had about him during the 2022 NBA Draft. He’s long, speedy, makes good decisions, and has a flair for the dramatic. It would be hard to believe he isn’t part of the long-term future of this franchise, especially when he sets a career high in points (36) and the most for a Blazer off the bench since Travis Outlaw in 2007. This team is doing what I discussed last week - beating the bad teams. You can’t progress in this league if you lose to teams you're supposed to beat. Chauncey has this team in the right spot - beating those teams.

Game #60 - 2/28 @ Brooklyn (121-102 W)

Last season didn’t produce many comfortable wins, but tonight’s victory was a surprise and a well-rounded team effort. Every starter, plus Dalano and Scoot, all scored double digits. Accumulating 31 assists is a monster night for us. We are in the bottom half of average assists/game, so seeing this kind of output is phenomenal. Brooklyn is a disaster, and there is no reason we shouldn’t have come away with a result like this and feasting on them from the statistical perspective. We shot 57% from the floor and 41% from 3-point. Somehow, we shot 59% from the free-throw line. That is so bad. It is a free, uncontested shot at the basket. How can we shoot so poorly from there? If we get into tight games and it comes down to making free throws, we might lose. This is a young team, but if we want to grow in the future, we must shoot in the 80-90% range during games. Even Brooklyn shot 85% from the line with the same number of attempts. I guess we have something to work on at practice as we gear up for a tough slate of games next week.

Game #61 - 3/2 @ Cleveland (133-129 OT L)

You can’t win ‘em all, especially when you have an 18-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. Cleveland is one of the favorites this season, and we pushed them to OT on their home court. That says a lot about this team. We don’t care who you are because everyone can be beat, and that lack of fear is probably what Chauncey is saying to these guys. Unfortunately, we got beat by the old UVA teammates in Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter. Jerome has been on a heater as of late, having scored 19+ points in 5 of his last 6 games. Hunter has maybe been the best trade-deadline acquisition of any team (outside of Luka) and has helped propel the Cavs to an 8-game win streak. There wasn’t anything substantial the Blazers could have improved upon in this game, as the stats were pretty neck and neck. The Cavs did make a few timely threes, but otherwise, they played tough, aggressive, and unrelenting. This is a good loss for this team because it wouldn't be a sweep if you were to play them in a series in the playoffs.

Record: 3-1 (27-34)

Next Week’s Games: 3/3 @ Philadelphia, 3/5 @ Boston, 3/7 @ Oklahoma City, 3/9 vs Detroit

Week 17-18

After the last few weeks, the win over the Hornets swings the mood meter in a positive direction. Obviously, it’s nice to get a win, but it's even nicer to set a few records in the process. There are only 25 games left in the season, and as lovely as it would be to figure out how to get into the Play-In game, having the 11th toughest remaining schedule doesn’t bode well for us. We shall see how things play out, but this team is still so fun to watch, and that means a lot, based on the last few years.

Game #54 - 2/10 @ Denver (146-117 L)

Welp… I guess we’re back to our losing ways, now having lost our last two games in a row. Yes, the Nuggets are an outstanding team with arguably the best player on the planet leading the way. But it is a bit of a bummer to have been sporting such good defense and then getting 146 slammed down our throats. This victory boasts their seventh straight win, so not only are they a good team, but they are also jelling as a unit. They almost doubled us in assists (a stat I care a lot about), which shows how much they were moving the ball, and they had 12 steals to our 4. These stats alone show the hustle they had compared to us. It wasn’t a boat race, though, as we were only down 9 halfway through Q3. This was tough for the Blazers to stomach, as they caught a hot team at the wrong time.

Game #55 - 2/12 @ Denver (132-121 L)

Wash, rinse, and repeat. Two is a coincidence, and three is a steak. So, we’re here again, wondering if any signs of positivity are a fluke for this team. We are only 4.5 games out of 10th, which, if someone said that at the beginning of the season, would probably be feeling about how I think - a hint of positivity. Sadly, this game was never really within reach, as Denver was ahead by 15-ish points the whole game. It was great to see seven different players score 10+ points, though. That means we have a good distribution of players who feel confident enough to score the ball or get the ball in the right spot to take a shot. I want to believe this is a slump to put us in the West's bottom 10-12 teams. We are definitely beating some of the teams we should probably beat, and then we’ll occasionally beat a team we have no business beating, i.e., Milwaukee or Indiana. The All-Star Break came at a convenient time because we needed a bit of a refresh after losing these last three games.

All-Star Break

Honestly, LOL. The All-Star Weekend has quickly become the laughingstock of sports in the US. The fact that the 4 Nations tournament is getting significantly more press and joy than the NBA is quite embarrassing. It doesn’t help that CP3 and Wemby were disqualified during the Skills Challenge. The All-Star Game itself has lost all meaning. MLB went through this a few years ago and figured out how to make it essential. The NBA needs to create an incentive that’s either a Finals home-court advantage for the East/West team or a monetary incentive. It’s genuinely a shame no one cares to watch these games. It doesn’t help when the face of the league, LeBron James, decides a few hours before tip-off not to play.

Game #56 - 2/20 vs LA Lakers (110-102 L)

This is a game we’ll want back. Although the Lakers were in control the entire game, we did catch momentum at the end, but LeBron’s 40-point performance and Austin Reaves’ scoring 32 were enough for them to hold on. Unsurprisingly, Deni leads the way with 28 points, with Toumani, Scoot, and Sheldon scoring 10+ points. It would’ve been great to have won without Luka on the court, but it wasn’t in the cards for us tonight. It seemed like the difference was rebounding, as we lost that battle 48-33. This Lakers team is interesting because, with Luka, they’re great offensively (defense is still a bit up for debate); without him, they’re a medium team. Who knows how they’ll finish the season, but they are a wild card for the playoffs.

Game #57 - 2/22 vs Charlotte (141-88 W)

Ohhhhh baby. Nothing better than a franchise record-setting margin of victory. I referenced this earlier in beating the teams we’re supposed to beat. Charlotte is trash and has no business competing with us. By no means do I think we should be winning by 53, but a double-digit victory feels about right. We had FOUR guys score 20+ points - Toumani, Ant, Shaedon, and Jabari - with a pleasant surprise from Jabari. This game put him over the 1k points mark. As a Bari loyalist, I find his growth and impact on this team incredible. Toumani tied the franchise record for +/- in a game with +45 (which is an insane number). On top of that, this game marked the 12th scorigam this season and the 3,157th unique score in NBA history. Why do we care? Unsure, but it’s fun to be part of history on a historic night.

Record: 1-3 (24-33)

Next Week’s Games: 2/24 @ Utah, 2/26 @ Washington, 2/28 @ Brooklyn, 3/2 @ Cleveland

Week 16

What a fantastic couple of weeks from the bright-future Blazers. Going on a 10-win over 12-game run is pretty insane when you think about the expectations set at the beginning of the season. There are lots of positive things to take from this past week: OT W over Phoenix, stellar defensive performances against Indy and Sacramento, and everyone playing great as a team. This team is close to figuring out how to compete for a spot in the playoffs, and while it might not be this year, next season has a lot to be excited about.

Game #50 - 2/3 vs Phoenix (121-119 OT W)

It was a back-and-forth game that gave the Blazers an OT victory and fourth consecutive win (producing the best record in the league over the last 9 games, too). This team is so damn resilient. If it weren’t for a Royce O’Neale three with 2.1 seconds left to send the game to OT, we would’ve won it on regulation. The Sun’s starters scored a collective 63 points, with 61 coming from Durant and Booker. They needed to depend on their bench and flimsy roster to get to OT against these RED-HOT Blazers. Then you look at the balanced scoring from Portland — Ayton scoring 25-point triple-double, Deni scoring 24, Toumani scoring 17, Jerami scoring 14, Ant scoring 13, and Scoot scoring 15 off the bench. Ayton got complete revenge over his former team with his big night, scoring 9 of the 14 OT points and collecting 5 rebounds (4 offensive). Again, idk what sparked this productive play from Ayton, but no one is upset about it. This team might be made up of small pieces, but these seem to be the pieces to a bright future Blazers.

Game #51 - 2/4 vs Indiana (112-89 W)

A WHOLE HAND OF CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES. Man, oh man, are the Blazers red hot and rolling. It helps to have the home crowd behind you, but holding someone like Tyrese Haliburton to 0 points on 0/3 shooting is insane. If I had to peg the team identity as one thing, I’d probably say accountability: they’re switching on assignments, making the extra pass (even two or three), and not getting bogged down by mistakes. Not only that, but they’re also leading the league in net rating and defense, something that hasn’t happened in YEARS. Not only that, but they never trailed in this game. I’m sure that’s happened this season before (maybe), but I wouldn’t count on it having happened more than once. Chauncey’s contract is up at the end of this season, and this success clearly proves his worth to the organization and the players. It all depends upon how the post-All-Star Break goes and if they tank, once again, or continue this new way of winning if he’ll be back for the 2025-26 season.

Game #52 - 2/6 vs Sacramento (108-102 W)

I feel Chauncey will be back next year after these six wins in a row?!? A back-and-forth game vs. the Kings where newly acquired Zach LeVine wasn’t enough to stop the best team in the National Basketball Association (over the last few weeks). Ant led the team in scoring with 30, followed by Shaedon with 24. They didn’t really lock anyone up, but no one going off is the success for winning games against loaded squads. As I’ve said before, this team is both young and figuring out its identity. This streak of 11 games where they’ve won 10 is 1) insane and 2) such a good foundation for next season regarding “look what we did last year.” Who knows what this will lead to for the rest of the season, but we’re getting this production from second and third-year players, which is excellent, especially against teams that are actually good, not just lottery teams. Also, Clingan is still proving to be a beast down low.

Game #53 - 2/8 @ Minnesota (114-98 L)

Did we run out of magic or have a not-so-great game against a better team? It kinda seems to be the latter. Being up 84-76 to start Q4 and then only scoring 14 in the final 12 mins is not the norm for this team. And the TWolves’ defense isn’t THAT amazing to outscore a hot team by 24 in the final quarter. Obviously, it doesn’t help when you shoot 7/35 from three-point range, but shooting 3/17 from the field in Q4 is what will hurt a team. All this talk of accountability has one thinking that it wasn’t present during the game's final quarter. Maybe the whole team hit a mental brick wall. Maybe we needed to sub off guys going cold to inject some juice into the rotation. Who knows. But this kind of meltdown performance isn’t something I’d guess we will see anytime soon. All you can do is erase it from your memory and move on.

Record: 3-1 (23-30)

Next Week’s Games: 2/10 @ Denver, 2/12 @ Denver, 2/20 vs LA Lakers, 2/22 vs Charlotte

Week 15

Another unbeaten week (yes, this has already happened this season). And with every win, we get closer to looking like a competent team trying to win games. This week, we won by an average of 20 points. TWENTY POINTS!?! What is Chauncey putting into the water in the locker room? Who cares. This team is so fun to watch that I might not care if we’re moving out of the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. Obviously, I care about the future of this franchise, and having Flagg is better than not having him, but who knows, we could win it from the 10th, 11th, or 12th best odds. It would be the cherry on top of this crazy season.

Game #47 - 1/28 vs Milwaukee (125-112 W)

Dame is 1-3 against the Blazers since exiting for Milwaukee. Idk what that means for the trajectory of the final grading of this trade, but it seems to me the Blazers are winning. Deni did Deni things, scoring 30. Ayton did Ayton things (which is a pleasant surprise), posting a double-double of 21/14 with only two fouls. Sadly, Jerami didn’t have a great night, mainly because he only played 16 minutes while scoring 8 points on four shots. Ayton is doing the thing we hoped: play well and hopefully get traded for assets/picks. Jerami has battled some injuries this season, but when healthy is a certified bucket. Regardless of the trade situation, this team is feisty and unwilling to accept losses. Chauncey is coming into his own as a coach, slowly winning me over.

Game #48 - 1/30 vs Orlando (119-90 W)

Another defensive routing of the Magic. Who are these Portland Trail Blazers? Midway through Q2, this game got out of hand for Orlando, getting outscored 91-55 after Q1. Chauncey manages this team so well on the defensive end - they’re playing hard, fast, and unrelenting. It’s hard to put a finger on the turning point for this team, but it might’ve been putting Shaedon on the bench (wildly enough). We saw Scoot take advantage of his minutes off the bench as something “unpromised,” and maybe that’s what Shae is feeling, too. For someone like me who is more focused on the team's growth, the answer, being as simple as a lineup adjustment, is an acceptable answer. But if something more is generating the NBA’s 2nd best defense over the last seven games, I’d love to hear what it is.

Game #49 - 2/1 vs Phoenix (127-108 W)

A three-peat (sue me, Riley, I dare you). Obviously, three consecutive wins isn’t a three-peat, but we’re here for drama, and that’s what was provided on Saturday night. The Blazers took the lead at the 8:16 mark in Q1 and never looked back, trouncing the Suns to a 19-point victory. Maybe it was an Ayton revenge game, maybe it was a Toumani revenge game, or maybe this team, once again, collectively played sound basketball. Honestly, this Phoenix team may not be that good, and they’re finally getting exploited. Again, I don’t care about the answer (ok, maybe I found an answer). I love to see the growth of this team from the beginning of this season. Sadly, this game was overshadowed by the Luka/AD trade, as there were clips of guys on the Blazers bench and Suns bench looking at their phones and reacting to the news. But let’s not take away from these Portland Trail Blazers being the hottest team in the NBA.

Record: 3-0 (20-29)

Next Week’s Games: 2/3 vs Phoenix, 2/4 vs Indiana, 2/6 vs Sacramento, 2/8 @ Minnesota