The Portland Trail Blazers lost their NBA Cup game on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers, falling 124-118.
Portland was hot leading up until Friday, but ultimately ran into the fire extinguisher that was Luka Doncic. The Lakers superstar has been on an absolute tear to start the season, and that carried into Friday, finishing with 53 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Here are his numbers over the last seven games now:
Oct. 25: 52 pts, 10 ast, 8 reb
Oct. 27: 41 pts, 9 ast, 5 reb
Oct. 30: 37 pts, 5 ast, 7 reb
Nov. 1: 45 pts, 6 ast, 15 reb
Nov. 2: 42 pts, 13 ast, 7 reb
Nov. 4: 40 pts, 7 ast, 9 reb
Nov. 6: 53 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb
Doncic is even slightly currently favored in the MVP race over San Antonio Spurs alien Victor Wembanyama, who has also been on a tear of his own, putting up Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers the other night with 52 points, 24 rebounds, and 8 blocks in their win over the Dallas Mavericks -- a career high in points and rebounds and somehow not blocks.
There's still plenty of time for the MVP race to run its course, and unfortunately injuries could play a factor as the season progresses. But the fact that Doncic is even in the MVP race and single-handedly taking over games against quality opponents like the Blazers is the true sign of a superstar.
The Blazers still lack that, with Deni Avdija as their best player.
Trail Blazers still need a true superstar to contend
Even Damian Lillard and Ja Morant have made it clear that they want the team to run through Avdija, the All-Star who carried this team to the postseason without them in the picture last year. And although Avdija continues to improve as a 25-year-old still developing into the point-forward role he's embraced in Portland, losses like Friday serve as a brutal reminder that the Blazers' contender ceiling is limited because they don't have a true superstar.
Looking at the list of past NBA champions over the last decade, the worst players to be the best players on the winning teams were likely Jalen Brunson and Jayson Tatum. Otherwise, it's been LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, those top five players at the time.
Doncic has been bordering that conversation for a while, but he finally seems firmly inside it, as the Lakers' offseason has paid off by building around his strengths and constructing a roster similar to the one he had when he went to the Finals with the Dallas Mavericks.
Portland has had a successful season of its own, as evidenced by the 6-2 record and fifth-place standing in the Western Conference after the loss to the Lakers. They surrounded Avdija with the secondary playmaking he lacked last season, adding Lillard and Morant to the backcourt.
That addressed Portland's lack of star power to an extent, but they still aren't top-heavy enough to truly contend. They would need a drastic leap from Avdija to jump into that tier of top teams in the Western Conference. Doncic's 52-point burger with cheese, lettuce, and tomato reminded the Blazers that Avdija isn't at that level yet, despite his promising improvement since coming over from the Washington Wizards.
They very well could get more doses of that reality thanks to a brutal upcoming schedule. Portland now travels back home to face the other strong MVP candidate in Wembanyama and the Spurs, with a 7:00 pm tipoff at the Moda Center on Saturday.
Their reward? Back-to-back games against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 10th and 11th.
Blazers are at a disadvantage in the Western Conference with Deni Avdija as their best player
The silver lining is that Portland at least has elite defenders to throw at these superstars, including Toumani Camara, Jrue Holiday, and even Sidy Cissoko. But this brutal stretch -- facing Doncic, Wembanyama, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, three of the top five players in the league -- in four consecutive games will really put the Blazers' star power to the test.
Avdija was an All-Star last season and continues to improve, especially now that he's healthier from the back injury that lingered and affected his play post-All-Star break. Hopefully he can develop into one of these superstars, as he has the ceiling to do so thanks to his rare point-forward skill set.
Avdija is somewhat like Doncic in that regard, using his frame, physicality, ball-handling, and finishing to become a matchup nightmare regardless of who's trying to guard him. Still, there's something to be desired in Avdija's game when you compare him to the league's elites, and Doncic's Friday 52-point performance was the latest reminder.
The hot start has been legit, and there's a lot to love about how the Blazers started the season under first-year head coach Micah Nori. But they'll eventually run into a wall in the Western Conference. For all the talk about how much stronger the Eastern Conference got this offseason, the West still has to deal with Jokic, Doncic, Wembanyama, and Gilgeous-Alexander.
Portland unfortunately still comes up short when trying to compete with that star power, which becomes a major disadvantage in a playoff series. Not that Avdija shrinks to the occasion, but it's simply too much to ask of him in that role to get Portland where they ultimately want to go.
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