Portland Trail Blazers: Don’t hit the panic button just yet

The Portland Trail Blazers have endured a rough few days, and spirits are low. But Portland can keep its fingers away from the panic button for now.

No doubt about it, the past 72 hours for the Portland Trail Blazers were nothing short of miserable. A loss at the buzzer at the hands of Furkan Korkmaz was followed by an embarrassing defeat against the injury-ridden Golden State Warriors. Then, with the Blazers also nursing injury scares to Rodney Hood and Hassan Whiteside, the results of Zach Collins‘ surgery came back and, if we’re being honest, it feels like worse-case scenario.

Not back in four months, but ‘re-evaluated’. With this timeline taking us right up the beginning of the playoffs, Portland fans should do themselves a favor, and assume we won’t be seeing Collins again this season — no way around it, that sucks.

https://twitter.com/ripcityproject/status/1191816587923222528

However. A random loss to the G-League Warriors and Collins going down does NOT mean the season is over. Recent news has been deflating, but Rip City needs to rally, and realize that plenty of positives are most certainly on the horizon. I’ll list a few here, and do my best to fire some hope back into the world of the Portland Trail Blazers.

No. 1: This roster remains better than last years

Recency bias has played a part in the current panic surrounding the Blazers. People forget how talented this roster actually is, and what we were working with last year. I’m scrolling through Twitter and seeing fans pine for Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu again! As I’ve touched on previously, yes their defense was great, and yes, they were great locker-room guys. But this was about it. Some fans must have shorter memories than me — I can still picture Lillard getting triple-teamed in the playoffs, whilst Aminu and Harkless waited anxiously in the corners.

The guys could not score. The defense is a concern right now, but last year’s team had reached its ceiling. To win a championship, you must strive to get better each year, and running it back with the same pair of starting forwards would have been redundant.

Dame needs able scorers outside, and Hood, Bazemore, Tolliver and Hezonja are all more capable in this department. Injuries have hit this roster big-time, and we need to be patient for the players to return. Jusuf Nurkic was arguably Portland’s second-best player last year; the roster cannot be fully judged until the Bosnian Beast is back playing.

No. 2: Portland also has the pieces to make a trade

My last article centered around this fact. The roster we’re currently watching is likely not the one we’ll be seeing come playoff time. The Blazers have control of their picks, and a couple of exciting expiring contracts to work with — it’d be highly surprising if Portland didn’t try to add a piece at some point this season.

The Hassan Whiteside move was definitely worth the risk, as the center does have tremendous upside. However, some view him simply as a trade chip for later in the season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case. There are plenty of realistic options out there who would immediately make Portland better — any one of Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Draymond Green or Danilo Gallinari. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at LaMarcus Aldridge even, despite his rocky history with Blazers fans.

Along with Whiteside, Portland have Kent Bazemore, Nassir Little and (regrettably) Zach Collins. Following his hot start to the season, Anfernee Simons could also be used as a trade chip, though I’d be surprised if the Blazers moved him, as the word is Simons is held in very high regard.

Regardless, the Blazers will have options, and exciting ones at that. Ride this rough patch out now, and look forward to the more optimistic future.

No. 3: Damian Lillard, MVP

Portland fans also need to remember, things can only get ‘so’ bad. The reason? Damian Lillard. Our talisman is playing like a genuine MVP candidate right now, and this will always be something for Rip City to fall back on.

I get this could be the year to go to the finals, in what is a sporadic Western Conference at best. The Blazers were within a few games of the finals last year, and obviously want more. But claims that the Blazers are going to miss the playoffs are simply ludicrous. Firstly, were 7 games in, and more importantly, Damian Lillard has done a lot more with a lot less before.

Dame has drove the team through tricky spots before, and he’ll do the same right now. Portland lost a few of their core guys, and with that their famous ‘continuity’ fizzled, but the culture is still there. The culture created by Lillard. Dame will always keep the Blazers above water, and always keep them relevant; he’s a rare sort of player.

Due to the rocky start made by the Blazers, Dame’s individual play has slipped through the cracks a little, but make no mistake about it, this is the best version of Damian Lillard we’ve ever seen. He’s put the team on his back every single game, and is genuinely playing at an MVP level. Currently averaging 31 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds per game, Lillard is excelling. If he maintains this sort of level (which I believe he can), and leads Portland to a top 4 seed (again), then he will be in that MVP conversation.

There is still plenty to be optimistic about for Portland, and hopes of another successful season should certainly not be dashed away. A rough couple of days yes, but the Blazers have the talent and grit to come out of this rough patch all guns blazing. Rip City: Keep your head up.