The Portland Trail Blazers are returning to some of their earlier losing practices and are getting farther away from winning 10 of 11.
Portland fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 110-102 at home Thursday night, losing for the fourth time in a row.
After the game, Deni Avdijas stated that the Blazers must get over their setbacks and focus on what made them successful, which includes ignoring trends and the standings.
According to Avdija, we participated in every game and gave it our all, which contributed to our winning run. defense. Offense. Together, we played. On the court, we’re enjoying ourselves. We don’t need to consider the losing streak, in my opinion. All we have to do is enjoy ourselves and stay positive.
Additionally, they need to improve their performance before their slim dreams of making the playoffs are totally dashed. With their tenth victory during that incredible run, the Blazers moved within two games of tenth place.
Portland (23-33) was tied for eighth place going into Friday, five games behind Golden State (28-27) and Sacramento (28-27).
The Blazers’ last four defeats came at the hands of the Lakers, Minnesota, and Denver twice. It was somewhat expected to lose twice at Denver (37-19). It hurts to lose to the Lakers (33-21) and Timberwolves (31-25).
Mike Conley Jr., Julius Randle, and Anthony Edwards were not present for Minnesota’s game. After losing to Charlotte (14–40) at home, the Lakers were playing the second game of a back-to-back without Luka Doncic.
When the margin of error was small, losing those two games was a missed chance. The Blazers would be three games out of tenth place if they had won both.
The Blazers’ overall performance has actually declined.
They had the best defensive rating in the NBA throughout the run, at roughly 104. They have a 121.8 rating from the last four games.
On December 13, 2024, in Portland, Oregon, Deni Avdija #8 and teammate Scoot Henderson #00 celebrate a basket during the Portland Trail Blazers’ second-half game against the San Antonio Spurs at Moda Center. (Image courtesy of Getty Images/Soobum Im)Getty Pictures
The Blazers shot 46.8% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc while winning 10 of 11 games, compared to opponents’ 43.4% and 29.7% shooting percentages.
Portland shot 32.7% from three-point range and 43.9% from the field throughout the previous four games. The opposition shot 34.1% and 54.4%.
It may sound dramatic, but the Blazers must defeat four of the NBA’s six weakest teams in their next four games to stay in the play-in chase. After hosting the Hornets on Saturday, they will travel for seven games, starting at Brooklyn (20-35), Washington (9-45), and Utah (13-41).
The top three NBA teams, Boston (40-16), Cleveland (45-10), and Oklahoma City (44-10), will all be visited during the trip.
The Blazers can’t afford to lose too many games against teams that went into tank mode months ago because they have a difficult stretch ahead of them.
Chauncey Billups, the coach of the Blazers, stated that his team was obviously rusty against the Lakers on Wednesday night. Avdija concurred, stating that although the Blazers needed the break to unwind, it had an impact on their game rhythm.
According to Avdija, it’s challenging to get into game form, particularly in this league. They also entered with a little bit more rhythm because of the Lakers’ performance yesterday. It’s not an excuse, though.
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Aaron J. Fentress | [email protected]|@AaronJFentress (Facebook), @AaronFentress (Instagram), and @AaronJFentress (Twitter)
