What's the Trail Blazers franchise record for most losses in a season?
The Portland Trail Blazers are 19-54 with nine games left in the season. A March 27 loss to the Atlanta Hawks was the team's eighth straight defeat; the Blazers' longest losing streak this year is nine. Head coach Chauncey Billups has started five rookies in three consecutive games, a first in NBA history.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to decipher that the 2023-24 Trail Blazers are not a good basketball team. But how not good are they? Could this squad be the worst in Portland history?
What's the Trail Blazers franchise record for most losses in a season?
Billups and Co. can exhale because they won't be the worst team in Portland history. That award for futility goes to the 1971-72 Trail Blazers, which finished 18-64. In fairness to that team, it was the second season of the franchise's existence. Only one player on the roster had more than four years of NBA experience.
Only two other Blazers teams lost more than 60 games. The 1972-73 team went 21-61 (a rough few seasons for the franchise).
The 2005-06 team led by Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, Juan Dixon and Ruben Patterson also went 21-61. Those four were the only players to average double figures in scoring that year for head coach Nate McMillain's squad.
How many games will this year's team lose?
This season's team needs to finish the year 3-6 to go 22-60 and not match that pair of 61-loss teams. Billups said he doesn't want to lead a squad that loses 60 games, so he'll need to lead the Trail Blazers to at least four more wins. Portland plays six of its last nine on the road, including games at Boston, Miami, Orlando and Sacramento - all playoff teams.
The Trail Blazers host two teams fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament in Golden State and Houston. Their other home contest is against New Orleans, which is currently fifth in the Western Conference standings.
Finishing the year 3-6 is maybe doable. But 4-5 is a real stretch for this squad, especially if players like Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton don't get healthy.
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The '23-24 Blazers won't end up as the worst team in franchise history, but they're on pace to finish the season as the second-worst.