Throughout the season, we've said that the Portland Trail Blazers roster needs a better supporting cast for Deni Avdija. There was no better example of that than Portland's blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Avdija missed his first game of the entire season due to lower back soreness -- an injury suffered towards the very end of Sunday's loss to the New York Knicks. Portland's offense completely fell apart without their rising star, losing 119-97.
Remind you this was a Warriors team that the Blazers have beaten in all three prior contests this season. Other factors contributed to this loss, but the primary one was Avdija's absence.
Bad loss without Deni Avdija proves Blazers must upgrade their roster
The Blazers had more turnovers (22) than assists (20). They also shot just 14-of-47 (30%) from beyond the arc. It's unsurprising that these two areas cost them the game, as they're the same roster weaknesses that have plagued Portland throughout the season. They currently rank second-worst in the league in three-point efficiency (33.9%). They also rank dead last in the league in turnovers per game (16.9) by a wide margin.
The fact that Portland is losing the turnover and three-point battle almost nightly yet remains in the playoff conversation with a 19-22 record is a testament to the high level Avdija is playing at. They just recently had the longest winning streak in the league at five games prior to that loss to the Knicks! Without him, these roster flaws were even more apparent.
While we typically don't want to overreact to one bad game in a long season, the blowout nature of this loss should serve as a wake-up call for the Blazers to upgrade their roster in the coming weeks, with the Feb. 5 trade deadline fast approaching.
Because the reality is, this wasn't just one game. The Blazers have been horrible in these key areas of playmaking and shooting throughout their entire rebuild.
That's been more understandable in years past. They were in the initial phase of rebuilding, stockpiling assets, and worrying about how they all best fit together later. But now that they have a legitimate All-Star in Avdija, the Blazers need to be thinking about what needs to be done in order to get back to the playoffs. And that starts with finding a better roster balance.
Even with Avdija, they've needed more complementary pieces in the form of secondary playmakers and floor spacers. But this recent loss without him just showed how dire that need truly is.