What is Wrong with the Blazers?
The Portland Trail Blazers started the season at a torrid pace. The scoring and wins they accumulated impressed teams and pundits around the league.
Being seen as one of the best teams in the league is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing, because this team is a clear-cut playoff team, whereas before the season people saw them as an average rebuilding team. A curse, because now they get the best effort from every team they face, night in and night out.
As we’ve seen the past few games against borderline playoff teams Toronto and Washington, teams are prepared and motivated to play the Blazers. Teams that at the beginning of the season would have been penciled in as wins are now down-to-the-wire battles.
In my mind there are 3 reasons the Blazers find themselves in this slump.
1. Defense
This is the obvious one. If you have watched the Blazers play basketball at all this year, you know that Portland basically hands teams open looks and easy baskets. Bringing in Robin Lopez in the off-season was a good first step in solidifying this defense but there hasn’t been any progress of those that were already on the roster. Yes, Joel Freeland will block a shot every once in a while. Thomas Robinson will hustle when he gets in the rotation. But this young, athletic, core of the roster need to really progress their defensive games if this team wants to go to the next level.
2. Bench
Does this sound familiar? Last year was a nightmare when it came to the bench. Not many people will argue with you if you anoint last year’s Blazer bench the worst NBA bench in recent history. General Manager Neil Olshey took aggressive steps during the off-season to bolster the bench by bringing in Mo Williams, Dorell Wright, Thomas Robinson and drafting CJ McCollum. I praised him for it. Problem is, this bench is not a whole lot better than last years’. Coach Terry Stotts does have more freedom with the rotation but the bench production has been thus far disappointing.
3. Turnovers
I do not believe that turnovers are a damning stat in the NBA. Some of the best players in the league lead the league in turnovers. Kevin Durant and LeBron James both average close to 4 a game. The problem the Blazers are having is they are turning the ball over far too often, while on the other side of the court they aren’t forcing them. You can contribute the entirety of the Washington loss to the turnover differential. The Toronto game was kept close by timely turnovers.
At the beginning of the year, I had my doubts about this team; as the season has progressed, I have continued to buy in. I truly believe this is just a slump the team finds themselves in, mainly because of the three issues I listed. It’s pretty clear no game in the NBA is easy and any team can jump up and beat you on any given night, at home or on the road. If the Blazers don’t come out of this slump they could quickly find themselves sliding down the ranking of the Western Conference.
Let’s hope that All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard can elevate their games to the point they need to as leaders of this team. Let’s hope the Blazers turn it around and return back to form as the most exciting team to watch in the entire league.
By Garrett Thornton | Courtesy of Oregon Sports News
