Stuck in Fourteenth

The Trailblazers seem locked in to the 14th spot in the West, a bad place to be. They are 3.5 games behind the Grizzlies for 13th, and 4.5 games ahead of the Spurs who sit in last. Portland would need to make a trade soon, or show marked improvement from their young stars to make a move up the standings. They have lost four of their last five games, though all the games were on the road as this will be their 6th game of a seven game road trip. In their last game, the Blazers were led by Jerami Grant with 21 points in the loss to the Knicks.

Anfernee Simons is the leading scorer for the Blazers, he missed some games in the beginning of the season with an injury, but has played the last 15 games and is averaging 24.6 PPG. Simons is the top shooter on the team, making 3.4 threes per game on 38.3% shooting, and recently had a 38 point, 11 assist game in the win over the Knicks. Jerami Grant is their second scorer on the team, he averages 21.8 PPG, though he should improve his 3.6 RPG and 2.5 APG given his athleticism and skill. Shaedon Sharpe was recently moved to the bench for the last six games, he is scoring 16.2 PPG and adding 5.0 RPG. The Blazers shifted rookie Scoot Henderson to the starting lineup, he is averaging 12.1 PPG and the team is hoping he can continue to produce more.

In recent games the Blazers have been starting Toumani Camara on the wing with his 7.1 PPG, and Duop Reath has been asked to step in at center when DeAndre Ayton is out with an injury. Malcolm Brogdon is another valuable asset for the team, he comes off the bench and adds 14.9 PPG and a team high 5.2 APG. The Blazers currently rank last in the NBA in offensive efficiency, and 19th in defensive efficiency.

Tight Race at the Top

We are approaching the middle of the NBA season, and there is a tight race at the top of the Western Conference standings. The Timberwolves, Thunder and Nuggets are in the top three spots, and all within 1.5 games of each other. Every game truly matters as these teams jostle for positioning in the standings. The Thunder have lost two of their last three heading into their matchup with Miami, then must play Portland 24 hours later. In their most recent game, the Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 32 points in the win over Washington.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the top scorer on the Thunder by a wide margin, he is averaging 31.5 PPG which is the 3rd most in the entire league. SGA also leads the team in assists with 6.4 per game and steals with 2.4 per game. Shai has had 32 or more in his past four games, including a high of 36 in a strong win over the Celtics. Jalen Williams is their next top scorer at 18.2 PPG, he also dishes out 4.2 assists per game, and has scored 20 or more in his last three outings. Chet Holmgren is putting together a strong first season, he is averaging 17.8 PPG and leading the team with 7.3 RPG. Chet had a big game in the win over the Wizards with 31 points. Their remaining starters include Josh Giddey who averages 12.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG, and Lu Dort who brings another 11.o PPG as a strong wing defender.

The Thunder have stuck with the same starting lineup all season, their top scorer off the bench is guard Isaiah Joe who averages 9.3 PPG. Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins garner the majority of the remaining bench minutes. OKC is ranked 5th in offensive efficiency and 8th in defensive efficiency. They play faster than the Blazers, the Thunder rank 6th in the league in tempo based on their pace of play.