The Portland Trail Blazers roster already lacked depth, and injuries, unfortunately, have compounded that problem early on in the 2025-26 season.
Portland has been playing great under interim head coach Tiago Splitter. They now sit at 4-2 despite a demanding schedule to start the season. However, the margin for error to make the Western Conference is extremely thin, particularly with a young roster. For an up-and-coming team with aspirations of ending a four-year playoff drought, these untimely injuries could derail those hopes before they even begin.
Injuries threaten to derail Blazers' playoff hopes
Portland has already officially ruled four players out for their upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers: Scoot Henderson (hamstring), Damian Lillard (Achilles), Matisse Thybulle (thumb), and Blake Wesley (foot).
Henderson and Lillard have yet to play a game this season, with the latter expected to miss all of 2025-26 as he takes a patient approach to recovering from his ACL tear in hopes of returning to form.
Thybulle tore a ligament in his left thumb in Portland's win over the Utah Jazz and underwent surgery, with the Blazers announcing that he will be reevaluated in four to six weeks.
The most recent injury was suffered by Wesley, who suffered a right foot fracture in their recent NBA Cup win over the Denver Nuggets. His recovery timeline has yet to be determined, but it's a brutal blow for both Wesley and the Blazers as he finally seemed to have landed in the ideal spot after a rocky start to his NBA career.
Portland is now extremely thin, particularly in the backcourt, and desperately needs Henderson to return. Jrue Holiday has played surprisingly well in his traditional point guard role, but the Blazers still have very limited playmaking options.
Nearly a third of their roster is already out, and a few other healthy players don't appear ready to take on increased roles to help fill the void at this point in their young careers. Rayan Rupert remains a work in progress at 21 years old, while Yang Hansen has been struggling to see consistent minutes in Portland's frontcourt rotation as a rookie. To make matters worse, Robert Williams III isn't expected to play in back-to-back games -- and that's assuming he's able to remain healthy.
The silver lining to this unfortunate situation is that it will force what's left of the Blazers' young core to step outside their comfort zone, which could boost their development in unexpected ways. But at the same time, this was a Blazers team attempting to straddle two timelines, balancing development with win-now aspirations.
Portland has exceeded expectations to start the season and should remain a difficult out despite the injuries because of its elite defense. However, their schedule doesn't lighten up anytime soon. The injuries may prove to be too large a hurdle to overcome, potentially resulting in them falling out of the playoff conversation as the season progresses.