Rip City is still buzzing over CJ McCollum’s 50-point magic show Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. In this edition of the Morning Blazer, we’ll check the pulse of the men in plaid and see how they stack up against the league’s elites.
Just how good are the Portland Trail Blazers? Good enough to punk the struggling Bulls, that’s for sure.
And they’re certainly playing better than they have all season. The Blazers have won seven of eight and four in a row (for the first time this season.)
In fact, by some statistical measures, the Trail Blazers are very good, indeed.
The Trail Blazers’ defensive rating (104.2) is eighth-best in the NBA. And their offense, lackluster for much of the season, has shown marked improvement since Jan. 1.
But good — even very good — is not great. And great is what Portland must be to weather the storm that awaits them over the next few days.
Trail Blazers vs. Raptors
The first test comes Friday in Toronto against the Raptors (currently 34-15; second in the Eastern Conference). Both the Raptors’ offensive and defensive ratings are Top 5 in the NBA.
The Raptors spanked the Trail Blazers 99-85 in Portland on Oct. 30.
And Toronto is led by two of the most dynamic playmakers in the league: DeMar DeRozan (24.4 PPG) and Kyle Lowry (16.4 PPG, 6.6 APG, 6.0 RPG).
The Raptors are tough to beat at home, where they’re 19-4, the second best home record in the NBA.
Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.
Trail Blazers vs. Celtics
Next, the Trail Blazers travel to Boston for a Sunday tilt; it will be their first game this season against the Celtics. (Boston visits the Moda Center March 23 for the second and final meeting between the two teams.)
You thought the Raptors looked tough? Well, get a load of the this: The Celtics (currently 37-15; first in the Eastern Conference) sport the best defense in all of basketball. Led by Kyrie Irving (24.9 PPG), the Celtics get good production from up and down their lineup. They’re also tough to beat at home (19-8).
No sleeping in on Sunday if you want to catch this one live. Tip-off is set for 9 a.m.
Trail Blazers vs. Pistons
Portland plays the new-look Detroit Pistons Monday. Detroit is currently 23-26 (ninth in the Eastern Conference). They’ve lost eight of their last 10 games.
But they’ve got Blake Griffin now; Trail Blazers fans know what he can do.
They also have Andre Drummond, a mountain of a man who is averaging 14.8 PPG and 15.3 RPG. He also averages five offensive rebounds per game. Can Jusuf Nurkic, whose status is uncertain after suffering a left quadriceps contusion against the Bulls, contain Drummond? Can anybody on the Trail Blazers?
Despite their sub-.500 record, this should be a tough game for the Trail Blazers. Winning on the road is never easy in the Association, regardless of the opponent. But having to play a new-fangled Pistons team in the second game of a back-to-back presents a difficult challenge.
This is the first of two meetings between the Trail Blazers and the Pistons.
Tip-off in Detroit is 4 p.m.
Big Challenge
The Trail Blazers have been pretty good on the road this season (14-12; sixth best road record in the NBA). But this three-game road trip against the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference (plus an unknown wildcard in the revamped Pistons) represents perhaps the biggest challenge of the Trail Blazers’ season thus far.
These three games will go a long way toward determining just how much Portland has improved in recent weeks.
Next: Trail Blazers win fourth straight, McCollum goes for 50
If the Trail Blazers can win all three games (a monumental but certainly achievable task), then I think we can say with certainty that Portland is among the elite squads in the NBA.
If Portland wins two out of three, that will also be quite an achievement, and will further solidify their standing among the league’s best.
But if Portland loses two out of three or gets swept during this three-game road trip, then we might be back at square one, wondering just how good these Blazers really are, and coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that they’re just not good enough.