Woof, what a weekend in Blazers land.
Friday night against the Utah Jazz, and it was nothing short of a disaster. The Trail Blazers lost by 42 to the Utah Jazz, owner’s of the worst record in the Western Conference and playing without their player, Lauri Markkanen.
It was a debacle from the opening tip. Deandre Ayton was benched in the second half. Chauncey Billups didn’t even muster up the anger he channeled the last time his team lost a home game by 40+ at home a couple weeks ago. This time he just sounded frustrated and dejected. Another ridiculous beat down against an even worse opponent wasn’t about rage. It was just deflating.
Portland followed that with a loss to LeBron-less Lakers on Sunday. The final margin of nine doesn’t illustrate the ease with which the scuffling Lakers dispatched the Blazers. This wasn’t a disaster on the level of Friday night. It was mostly just a normal loss in which a team isn’t competitive in the fourth quarter.
When things go south, it’s natural to look for someone or something to blame. But in this case, it’s a collective issue. From the players on the court to the coaching staff and even the front office, everyone shares responsibility.
Billups is not the right coach for this team. The roster is poorly conceived and the front office has held onto players too long and prioritized the wrong type of veterans on the roster. And the players have a tendency to jump out of the boat when the water starts to rise.
It’s a mess right now. The last time they lost by 40+ at home they followed it with their best week of the season. Until they didn’t. Maybe they’ve got another stretch like that in them.
Maybe we’ll be back here again soon. This team feels rudderless and the NBA regular season has reached the longest stretch of open ocean.
