Portland Trail Blazers fans understandably wanted to see their up-and-coming team in the NBA Cup, which would've given their young roster more valuable experience in a playoff-like atmosphere. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition after Portland's 115-102 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 26.
The silver lining is that, because they aren't in the NBA Cup, Portland's next game won't be until Thursday, Dec. 11, against the New Orleans Pelicans. That's a nice mini break, and it honestly couldn't have come at a better time.
Blazers set to benefit from mini-break
Portland hasn't been able to maintain its strong start to the season and now sits 10th in the Western Conference with a 9-15 record, having dropped 10 of its last 13 games. Of course, they're better than that record indicates, as the Blazers have been extremely shorthanded as of late.
This schedule gap will provide them with valuable time to get relatively healthy without dropping any more games, which is crucial considering how thin the margin of error is in the competitive Western Conference.
Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Matisse Thybulle are all expected to be back at some point in December. Donovan Clingan will have more time to recover after missing the past two contests. And it also gives interim head coach Tiago Splitter more time to reassess Portland's roster. Splitter was thrown into the fire after Chauncey Billups was placed on immediate leave after just one game. He hasn't had the luxury of optimizing Portland's roster, an issue compounded by untimely injuries.
Also, look for Shaedon Sharpe to be implemented back into the starting rotation. At full strength, Portland's Holiday-Sharpe-Camara-Avdija-Clingan lineup with Grant off the bench was working. Sharpe was justifying Portland's decision to start him, showing improvements on the defensive end, while Grant was really embracing his sixth-man role, providing much-needed shot creation off the bench.
The Blazers' record may not suggest this, but they're actually in a good situation overall. Deni Avdija has been playing at a level higher than anyone expected and should be able to carry Portland to the play-in tournament once they get healthier. Another factor helping their chances is that the Blazers now have the easiest remaining strength of schedule.
It's too early to properly evaluate Splitter's time as interim head coach and whether he deserves a permanent role, but we should get a clearer picture of how things are going in Rip City after this much-needed break. Every team not in the NBA Cup is set to gain an advantage, but it feels particularly significant for Portland.