Week 24

The final week of the NBA regular season is starting next week, and it’s looking like the Blazers have the 10th pick locked up. With games against the Jazz, who have no desire to win, and the Warriors and Lakers, who are desperately looking for wins, the team will most likely be 1-2 on the week and 36-46 on the season overall. This is great for us since there isn’t much of a cause for our draft positioning to worsen. Lots of “wait and see” during the last week, but it will at least make for a great time seeing how the West’s seeding will look.

Game #76 - 4/1 @ Atlanta (127-113 W)

A 15-point lead that quickly diminished in the fourth quarter eventually led to a W in Atlanta. Once again, Deni showed why he is the driving force behind this team. As I’ve said, how we got him from Washington for almost nothing is confusing as everything gets out. But we’re not here to overthink good things. Another good thing is that Shaedon is in a groove and is starting to prove his worth as a #7 NBA Draft pick. But outside of this, it was a battle of defensive prowess: Toumani vs Dyson Daniels. From a +/- perspective, Toumani outplayed Dyson +9 to -20. You could even toss Matisse in there too if you want to add more defense to this game. But this game had everything the Blazers wanted in a game. It had a crazy 30/15/10 Deni triple-double. It had a defensive Toumani celly. It had some steals from Matisse. It even had some big man threes. It’s clear we can beat the middling teams, and that, in and of itself, is a massive improvement from last season when every game felt like a coin toss.

Game #77 - 4/3 @ Toronto (112-103 W)

Shaedon Sharpe is every player’s favorite highlight reel. With Anfernee still out, Dalano got the start and continues proving he has a valuable spot on this roster, scoring 23 points. Deni did Deni things with 26 points and 15 rebounds. This game was back and forth until the Blazers fully grasped the lead in Q4. This Toronto team isn’t scary, but when it’s the end of the season, you never know what will happen, so it’s great to see us take control of the game late. Shaedon was the best player on the court and set a new record for a Canadian player scoring the most points against Toronto. The growth of Shaedon this season has been detrimental to the development of this team.

Game #78 - 4/4 @ Chicago (118-113 L)

A 15-point, fourth-quarter lead was too much for Portland to overcome against the Bulls in Chicago. A 15-2 run over 5:44 cut the lead to 106-108, but it wasn’t enough for the Blazers to prevail. Once again, in back-to-back games, it was the Deni, Shae, and Dalano show, with each scoring 37, 17, and 21, respectively. Unfortunately, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Josh Giddey had other plans as they led the charge for holding off Portland. This was a weird one from Chauncey. Amid the late run, he subbed out Deni and Shaedon with 3:00 left on the clock. In a game that technically doesn’t matter since the Blazers are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it matters emotionally for the season. I get the rationale to help us with a better draft pick, but ultimately it seemed pretty lame and reminiscent of Chauncey’s tenure in Portland late in the season - tanking. Either way, this season has already proved a lot to the city of Portland and the rest of the league that we, as an organization, have decided how this team will operate moving forward - winning.

Game #79 - 4/6 vs San Antonio (120-109 W)

The good guys won a game that ultimately didn’t matter. (That’s us. We’re the good guys.) We took control midway through the first quarter and never released it. Deni couldn’t continue his hot streak of scoring due to a right thumb sprain. BUT we got back to some of our original ways of balanced scoring, with four guys scoring 18+ points and Shaedon and Toumani providing double-doubles. Great to see a solid performance from Kris Murray, too. He’s not getting tons of minutes, but Chauncey is doing the right thing by having some guys like Kris and Jabari get real minutes outside of the fourth quarter. Although the season is ending and they’re officially out of playoff contention, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Chauncey’s starting lineup decisions. I’d assume it’ll be similar to tonight, but who knows?

Record: 3-1 (35-44)

Next Week’s Games: 4/9 @ Utah, 4/11 vs Golden State, 4/13 vs LA Lakers

Week 23

I’ll say this. The Blazers look like they have decided on the team's direction. This is something that has not been the case for the last few years. The trade for Deni is quickly becoming the best thing during the offseason. Plus, the inclusion of Toumani Camara will haunt the Suns as one of the dumbest decisions this decade. And then, we're taking a flyer on Shaedon because we needed help at every position, so we might as well take the crazy athletic dude jumping out of gyms, even though he hasn’t played a single minute of competitive ball since high school. The last two weeks now seem to be filled with more losses than wins, which at this point is fine. We proved to the NBA that we can be a good defensive team, and we’re ending the season on a high level regardless of our finishing record.

Game #73 - 3/25 vs Cleveland (122-111 L)

Unfortunately, this result was inevitable. The Cavs are one tough team to beat this year, especially with the addition of De’Andre Hunter as a spark plug off the bench and Ty Jerome continuing his heater of a season. The Blazers had a decently even scoring night with six guys all scoring between 13 and 18 points, with Clingan and Shaedon leading the way with 18 each. But when your opponent shoots 54% from the floor, taking 12 fewer shots than you, that’s gonna be a tough recipe for success. As much as our defense has improved since the New Year, you have to perform special against a team like Cleveland. Getting Matisse back is massive for this team, especially when he can have sticky hands on defense and make 5/6 shots from deep. This loss doesn’t put us out of the Play-In, but it doesn’t help our cause when teams like Dallas and Phoenix win games.

Game #74 - 3/27 @ Sacramento (128-107 L)

This is a terrible result in a must-win game against a team also fighting for the playoffs. Not only were the Blazers more than capable of winning this game, but they’ve been trending better than the Kings as of late. Neither team has had a stellar month of March, but the Blazers’ losses are to teams they probably should be losing to, i.e., the Celtics and Cavs. This game featured scoring from the starters on each side of the ball. Ant, Toumani, and Shaedon scored 20+, with Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Keegan Murray all scoring 17+. And with all that scoring coming from the starters, the Blazers lead at the 8:17 mark in Q1 and then surrendered the lead for the rest of the game. With this loss being to a team we need to beat, it drastically lessens our odds for the Play-In. We would need to run the table and hope for many losses from the Suns, Mavs, and Kings. The season seems not to be in our hands like it was a week ago, and losses might be the move to improve our odds in the draft.

Game #75 - 3/30 @ New York (110-93 L)

What a collapse in the 4th Quarter. Getting outscored by 16 in the last 12 minutes is quite catastrophic against a team locked into the 3-seed in the East. They need to coast these previous handful of games, and a loss to the Blazers was much more of a necessity for Portland than New York. OG Anunoby cooked us and underscored Deni’s 33-point evening, scoring 28 points on 69% shooting with 7 rebounds. This was a very back-and-forth game that maybe Chauncey decided to give up once Q4 started, knowing the probability of making the Play-In isn’t in the cards anymore. It’s tough to think that’s the case when January came with the commentary about him leading the mentality of “keeping everyone accountable”. And it would be a disservice to him, and ultimately hypocritical, for him to give up with eight games remaining.

Record: 0-3 (32-43)

Next Week’s Games: 4/1 @ Atlanta, 4/3 @ Toronto, 4/4 @ Chicago, 4/6 vs San Antonio

Week 22

A great week in the books as we inch closer to the 10-seed. Although figuring out how to get into the Play-In is the goal of this team, missing out and getting the 10th-14th pick isn’t the worst thing either. We need talent at every position, so we should use the pick in a “best available” mentality. For this week, wins over Denver and Memphis were massive. The loss to Boston was expected, so going 3-0 in the other games was a wonderful treat. We’ve got a tough week ahead, but you never know what might happen when you’re playing teams that have their seeds locked up.

Game #69 - 3/17 vs Washington (112-97 W)

A game that was competitive until halftime was a blowout in the end. When the Wizards come to town, something that’s been the case for the last decade, you can almost count on a victory. Tonight was no exception as Deni now sits 2-0 against his former team. He only needed 27 minutes to make his impact. But the most impactful person was Matisse, registering five of our 15 steals. It’s so great having him back as he adds so much on the defensive side. I hope he and Deni can combine for a great wing combo and let the likes of Ant, Scoot, Shaedon, and Clingan work on the offensive side. This game was great for Tisse to get back into the swing of things. I don’t believe he’s on a minute’s restriction, but having him get the reps in before the big “end of season push,” will go miles if we can sneak into that 10-seed.

Game #70 - 3/19 vs Memphis (115-99 W)

A much-needed victory over a playoff team came tonight. Although it was without Ja Morant, a win is a win. We are on Mavs, Suns, and Spurs watch with 12 games remaining in the regular season. Whichever team has the least freefall will likely end up as the 10-seed for the Play-In. Tonight’s game featured predictable behavior from Deni and Ant, and productive evenings from Doup, Shaedon, and Toumani. As a team, we shot just under 40% from 3-point and out rebounded the Grizzlies by 25, which is HUGE. We are still producing a lot of turnovers, and I think it would bode us well to figure out how to keep them below double digits somehow. One of the few stats from this game was that we never trailed, something we haven’t done much of the last few seasons. A great result at home when it mattered is a good proof point for this team as the season ends.

Game #71 - 3/21 vs Denver (128-109 W)

No Jokic? No problem. The Blazers are taking advantage of games when opposing stars are absent, as seen tonight. Deni had a surreal performance scoring 36 on 12/16 shooting alongside 8/9 from the free-throw line. Kris Murray and Scoot got to start, replacing Clingan and Ant, respectively. It’s excellent seeing Kris get real minutes. As the twin of Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, he stayed an extra year at Iowa and got drafted by the Blazers in the first round of the 2023 season. He and Jabari have been two guys I’d love to see genuinely make that jump to be in the 8–9-man rotation. They are great spot-up shooters, but they could increase their tenacity and defensive prowess, which Chauncey is looking for from this team. He put up an unassuming 3 points during 21 minutes of playing time. Dalano got more valuable minutes during the first three quarters of the game, but seeing Kris get the nod to start is sure a confidence boost.

Game #72 - 3/23 vs Boston (129-116 L)

We learned from last time when one of Boston’s stars was absent - Payton Pritchard didn’t go off tonight. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was too much for this Blazer squad. This wasn’t a matter of trying; it was a matter of losing to a better team. This Celtics team is just so solid. They can coast the rest of the regular season as they have the 2-seed in the East wrapped up. They aren’t going to catch the Cavs, and they would have to go on a crazy losing streak to succeed their spot to the Knicks, which isn’t going to happen. Although we had Ant and Clingan back, it didn’t affect the outcome of this game. Their firepower, camaraderie, and chemistry would always be too much. Gotta move onto the next one and hope we can bounce back.

Record: 3-1 (32-40)

Next Week’s Games: 3/25 vs Cleveland, 3/27 @ Sacramento, 3/30 @ New York

Week 21

The rockiness ended, finally. In the last few weeks, we’ve played some tough opponents on the road, but now we can play some of those same teams at home. The previous 14 games feature 10 games against playoff teams. That’s not ideal, but winning a few of those against teams who have clinched their spot in the playoffs might help us out. Outside the Blazers, there were a few significant things around the league. Steph became the first player to hit 4,000 threes, which is an insane number. Especially when you consider James Harden sitting second all-time in 3-pointers made, and he’s 900-ish behind him. Diana Taurasi announced her retirement from the sport of basketball as one of the best players to ever touch a ball. On 3/13, she held a press conference with the Mercury.

Game #66 - 3/10 @ Golden State (130-120 L)

A game that was consistently just out of reach from the jump. Man, Golden State never seems to die, do they? Since getting Jimmy Butler, they’ve been monsters. They’re 11-2 since acquiring him at the trade deadline and have vaulted pretty solidly into the top 6. Unless Steph is out for the season, this team always seems to figure it out, which is frustrating. From the Portland side of things, Deni is so back. His absence last week was missed as he produced quite a “do it all double-double,” scoring 34 points on 11/15 shooting and 5/7 from deep and 16 rebounds. Ant also put up a big night scoring 32, but the next highest-scoring guys were 15 from Clingan and 12 from Scoot. This was a game of catching a hot team at the wrong time. If we had played them a week ago or in a week, it might’ve been different. But sadly, we were outmatched from tip to final buzzer.

Game #67 - 3/12 vs New York (114-113 OT L)

Mikal Bridges is a bad man. This is a tough loss considering this game was within reach the whole time. New York has moments of being good, and although they have a higher ceiling and floor, Portland should have won this game. This isn’t the first time he’s hit a game-winning three with 40+ lead changes in OT. Yes, that is a sentence that now exists in the world. Back in 2023, he did it against Atlanta. The 30 points from Scoot, 27 from Deni, and 21 from Shaedon weren’t enough to overcome this goofy Knicks team. KAT hitting a few threes late in Q4 didn’t help as the Knicks gained a decent lead with only a few minutes left. But our defense is still playing really well, so we were able to contain them in the end. Sadly, the switch Clingan needed to make onto Bridges was a little late, which gave Bridges a good look at the top of the three-point line for the game-winner. Like the Cleveland loss, this is an excellent example of learning opportunities for this young team. The foundation looks pretty set. Now we need to find the missing pieces.

Game #68 - 3/16 vs Toronto (105-102 W)

Back to winning ways *massive exhale*. We’re doing what I previously talked about: beating the teams we’re supposed to and staying competitive with the teams we’re supposed to lose to. Toronto is playing to win when they should lose for a better draft spot. I say that because this game was much closer than it should have been for the Raptors. They were leading 95% of the game until the end. Maybe they took a page out of the Blazers’ playbook from the last few seasons — playing for three solid quarters and then faltering late in the game. We had a bit more balanced scoring tonight with Ant leading the way with 22 points, Toumani with 21, Deni with 19, and Shaedon with 17. Scoot had a particularly horrendous shooting night, only making 2 of his 12 shots from the floor. But the biggest news was getting Mattise Thybulle back from injury. Man, oh man, is his presence immediately felt when he’s on the floor. Massive to have him back in the lineup as we sit 3.5 games out of the 10-seed.

Record: 1-2 (29-39)

Next Week’s Games: 3/17 vs Washington, 3/19 vs Memphis, 3/21 vs Denver, 3/23 vs Boston

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