The Portland Trail Blazers have 27 games left in the 2024-25 season and hope to pick up right where they left off before the All-Star break. The Blazers have been playing improved basketball, and credit needs to be given to head coach Chauncey Billups for turning the team around. But any hopes of a play-in spot in the loaded Western Conference still seem to be wishful thinking.
Portland has a 23-32 record, good for 13th in the Western Conference. In order to make a play-in spot, they'd need to leap teams like the San Antonio Spurs (23-29), Phoenix Suns (26-28), and one of the Golden State Warriors (28-27) or Sacramento Kings (28-27). Although the Blazers still have a long way to go, their path got slightly easier, unfortunately, at the expense of the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama.
ESPN's Shams Charania announced that Wembanyama will be shut down for the remainder of the season due to a form of a blood clot in his right shoulder.
Victor Wembanyama has a form of a blood clot in the right shoulder. He is out for the season. The Spurs believe this is an isolated condition. https://t.co/AEP8Way0Zb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025
First and foremost, we hope this is indeed an isolated condition and are glad that the Spurs caught it before it became anything more serious. The basketball analysis and its impact on the Blazers is secondary to Wemby's well-being. However, a season-ending injury to a generational talent nonetheless does have significant ramifications on the landscape of the Western Conference.
What Wembanyama's season-ending injury means for the Blazers
It's still a longshot for the Blazers to make a play-in spot, but this unfortunate injury increases those slim odds. The Spurs, with Wemby, have a more talented roster than the Blazers. But with him out of the equation, you could make a case for Portland to have a better team, especially given how they have played lately. While it will be hard to catch the Warriors, who added Jimmy Butler, it's possible the Blazers can pass the Spurs as well as the Suns and Kings, both teams that are in disarray after the trade deadline and struggling defensively.
This injury could actually be better for San Antonio and worse for Portland in the long term. The Spurs' timeline with Wemby and Stephon Castle aligns with the Blazers' rebuild. The thought that they could add another top-ten pick, as well as the Hawks' first-round pick, into the mix is scary.
In the short term, this injury could benefit one player in particular: Toumani Camara. Wemby finishes the season with 46 games played, under the 65-game minimum required to be eligible for awards.
Camara has been gaining recognition around the league for his defensive impact, and rightfully so. It's still doubtful that he is even in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year, especially since the Blazers have a losing record. But this opens the door for him to make an All-Defensive spot potentially.