The Western Conference is as competitive as always. While the top four teams are fairly ahead of the pack, there will be a bloodbath for the spots between fifth and tenth. With the poor season the Los Angeles Lakers are having, there is a space in the playoff picture that many teams can fight for. One of these teams that will be fighting for one of these spots is the Portland Trail Blazers. Unfortunately for the Blazers, their season has not gone to plan. They are sitting at 19-26 and they will need a much better second half to remain in front of the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, and the San Antonio Spurs. The Blazers were supposed to be better than this and they are really in trouble. To understand that properly, here are two glaring reasons for the Trail Blazers' ongoing struggles.
Trail Blazers struggles
Roster Incompatibility
The Blazers arguably got Damian Lillard the most help possible, with the inclusion of Norman Powell and the solid play of Anfernee Simons. Unfortunately, the roster just does not work together. Even worse, the Blazers have to make a decision on Jusuf Nurkic very soon, another player that is a fan favorite but cannot play in this setup. The Blazers need to figure this out as soon as possible, and there are a few things they can do. However, it is very important to understand what exactly are the issues.
The Blazers must stop pretending that the CJ McCollum-Damian Lillard backcourt will bring them a title. If they want to get Lillard the best possible chance for a championship in Oregon, they need to trade McCollum. While this is something that is haunting the Blazers for a few years now, now it is really showing. The Blazers have the 28th worst defense in the league, and it is especially leaky in the backcourt. Lillard and McCollum simply cannot coexist because their offensive output couldn't offset how much they allow defensively.
Just because their guards are poor defensively, does not mean that other sections of their roster have been much better. Nurkic, as an old school center, does not work well with Lillard, since he needs to put himself out there on defense, chasing guards around the perimeter. If Nurkic is not in the middle, the Blazers' opponents have a free lane. That has led to the Blazers being the fifth-worst team in terms of opponents scoring percentage in the paint.
Their offense is not much better. They have the 16th offense, in terms of offensive rating, but are ranked very bad across the board. The Blazers are 23rd in field goal percentage, 24th in assists, 26th in rebounding, and 16th in points per game. Most likely, the problem is that their best players are having poor seasons. Nurkic seemingly couldn't come back to the level he had in the 2020 NBA bubble, while McCollum is having his worst season since his sophomore year in the league. As for their biggest star…
Damian Lillard taking a nosedive in form…and then getting injured
Lillard was supposed to be an MVP candidate once again, after a few seasons of carrying the Blazers on his back. Unfortunately, changes to officiating rules and perhaps to the game ball impacted him in a major way. In pure numbers, Lillard is averaging 24 points per game, adding 7.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.6 steals. What should concern Blazers fans is his shooting splits.
Right now, Lillard shoots 40.2% from the field, 32.4% from behind the arc, and 87.8% from the free-throw line. These numbers might be good for someone who is not leading the franchise, but with 19.9 shots per game, 40.2% shooting is nowhere near good enough. When his whole career is taken into consideration, these are the worst shooting splits in his whole NBA tenure, including his rookie year. He also fell from around 1.2 steals per game a couple of years back to just 0.6, which is just another proof of how Lillard is having a poor season.
In a similar fashion to the Warriors, who rely on Stephen Curry, the Blazers depend on how Lillard plays. In the last four seasons, without Lillard, the Blazers are 14-17, meaning that they do struggle without their biggest star. Unfortunately, due to Lillard's abdominal injury, the Blazers will really need to find a way to win games for the next couple of games until he is back. Even in this form, Lillard is still sorely missed by the Blazers, and while some great games by their players won them a few contests, it does not look sustainable.
Without Lillard for a few weeks and with an imbalanced roster, the Blazers might consider this season done. However, if they trade the expiring contract of Nurkic for some immediate help, especially defensively, they might overcome this year and still make the play-in tournament.
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