Trail Blazers end tough road trip 1-3: Morning Blazer

What’s on our minds this morning? Well, the Trail Blazers lost three out of four on the road. And there was that miracle football finish in Minnesota. What might that say about perseverance?

Good morning, Rip City! Welcome to your Morning Blazer. And how are we today? Still smarting from the Portland Trail Blazers’ fairly dismal road trip?

Yeah, we are, too.

Trail Blazers at Timberwolves

The Trail Blazers were smoked by the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday in Minnesota. Portland finished their tough road trip at 1-3. They started out with a win at Oklahoma City. But then they followed it up with three straight losses to the Rockets, Pelicans and T-Wolves.

We knew going in that the trip would be difficult. And it can be hard to find any positives when the Trail Blazers continue to remind us of their mediocrity.

But let’s try, anyway.

Zach Collins continues to impress. Maybe he should be given the starting nod over Jusuf Nurkic, who scored eight points and grabbed just five rebounds against Minnesota.

Collins has shouldered a steep learning curve, and he continues to improve. He’ll have to stay out of foul trouble, but perhaps it’s time to make a change. Especially since Nurkic’s inconsistency continues to dog the Blazers.

What’s next for the Trail Blazers?

Portland will play five of their next eight games at home to close out the month of January. They’re currently 22-21, tied with the Denver Nuggets, whom the Trail Blazers will play next Monday in Denver.

This week, the Trail Blazers will play three straight at home against the Phoenix Suns (Tuesday), the Indiana Pacers (Thursday) and the Dallas Mavericks (Saturday). It will be interesting to see if Stotts fiddles with his lineup again.

Sometimes, getting production out of this team is like squeezing water from a rock. Are there any trade rumors out there that interest you? Dan Favale of Bleacher Report has an idea. But I must admit: I stopped reading as soon as the story mentioned Luke Babbitt.

Maybe Caleb Swanigan will return from the NBA G League, where he’s been tearing it up. He’s a big body and could turn into a valuable asset for the Trail Blazers.

Minnesota Miracle

Did you see what happened in the New Orleans Saints-Minnesota Vikings NFL playoff game? Of course you did. We all did. It was amazing! (Although some people didn’t seem all that amazed.)

That play will certainly go down in NFL lore as one of the wackiest, most surprising endings to a football game ever.

Next: How Caleb Swanigan is performing in the G League

But I’m most impressed with Saints player Marcus Williams, who failed to make a tackle on the final play that would have ended the game and given the Saints the victory.

Actually, he whiffed completely.

But Williams is making no excuses.

“You can’t let it beat you down,” Williams said. “I’m going to take it upon myself to do all I can to never let that happen again, and if it happens again, then I shouldn’t be playing.”

Could the Trail Blazers benefit from that kind of searing self-criticism and self-examination?