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Even though the Portland Trail Blazers were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals last year, their magnificent run leading up to that point received serious acclaim from basketball fans across the globe. However, they haven't been able to carry the momentum over to the current season and a fairly disappointing campaign finds them at the 11th spot in the Western Conference standings so far.
Their uncharacteristic 10-16 (0.385) win-loss record to start this year has been a culmination of various anomalies. Let's take a look at some of the glitches that are to be blamed for their underwhelming performance across the 26 games played so far.
#1 The long list of injuries have shaken the core of this team
Rodney Hood was the latest addition to the lengthy lineup of Portland players who have or are slated to miss considerable time due to some kind of injury. As was Hood's case, he ended up tearing his Achilles against the Los Angeles Lakers and will sit out for the rest of the season.
Tracing back from this mishap, one can recall Jusuf Nurkic’s fractured leg from March, which is expected to keep him sidelined till the All-Star break. The Bosnian was Portland's leading rebounder and shot-blocker when he went down. Moreover, a promising young talent in Zach Collins will miss at least four more months, after he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and had to undergo surgery to fix it. As of this moment, the Blazers are also missing Nassir Little who is a day-to-day decision due to his back issues.
It's safe to say that this squad is severely understaffed to battle the turbulent winds of competition that Western Conference brings. They are missing key contributors and are desperate for players to step up in this phase of utter distress.
#2 Their prominent role players from last season have gone missing
To start the 2019-20 campaign, the Trail Blazers squad is no longer the well-knit group that led a successful run this past season. The list of former Portland rotation players who are suiting up for new teams this year consists of Seth Curry, Enes Kanter, Meyers Leonard, Nik Stauskas, Jake Layman, Al Farouq-Aminu, Evan Turner and Mo Harkless.
As a result, the team is left with no choice but to shell out substantial minutes to names like Mario Hezonja, Skal Labissiere, Anfernee Simons and Anthony Tolliver - who are decent players but not helping Portland's lost cause nearly enough. Only one of these players is barely touching the 10 ppg mark.
Coming off an impressive year, if the Trail Blazers are looking to build on their past, they seriously need to consider shaking things up. Their current lineup is clearly not working for them as they are getting outscored by 2.03 points per 100 possessions this season.
#3 The team is not focussing on defense, now that all their offensive pieces are in place
The reigning Western Conference finalists recently signed veteran Carmelo Anthony to boost their production on offense in the backdrop of a glaring dearth of talent. Although he was named the Western Conference Player of the Week and helped his team win three straight, he has been a potential liability on defense. And the roster is in dire need of that.
The Trail Blazers' defensive rating of 111.3 is amongst the league's worst, as they have now lost five of their last ten games. They are dead last in the NBA in terms of steals per game (6.0), and with the exception of Hassan Whiteside, possess negligible protection in the paint.
The likes Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks that are leading the standings are doing so by fueling their offensive runs off their defensive intensity. However, Portland have focused more on taking the scoring load off their dynamic backcourt duo, than surrounding them with quality defenders to take care of matters on the other end.
