Thursday night time’s 114-83 loss to the Spurs snapped the Path Blazers’ 10-game successful streak at dwelling. They’re now 10-2 at dwelling however it’s their dismal highway document of 1-10 that is actually pulling their total document down.

After Thursday’s five-game slate, Portland is ninth within the West with a 11-12 document below their new teaching workers led by Chauncey Billups. 

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Whereas the previous NBA Champion and Finals MVP had a lot to say coming into the job concerning how the group would change however a couple of quarter of the way in which into the 2021-22 season, the group continues to be dealing with and trying to beat the identical subject which has dogged them for the previous few years. 

Defence! 

After 23 video games, their defensive ranking of 111.8 is ranked Twenty eighth within the league which solely slots them above the Memphis Grizzlies (twenty ninth) and the New Orleans Pelicans. 

This dismal play on one finish of the ground usually instances reverses the impression of the offence, which isn’t solely ranked within the Prime 10 this season however has featured among the many league’s finest over the previous few seasons. 

It is all gone downhill, as illustrated by the desk above, for the reason that 2017-18 season once they completed with the sixth-best defensive ranking within the league. 

A failure to show issues round, particularly on that finish of the ground over the previous couple of seasons, amongst different issues led to the mutual separation after 9 years between the group and former head coach Terry Stotts. 

Nonetheless, nothing appears to have modified below the brand new head coach. It is nonetheless early on, however a group with the type of expertise at their disposal shouldn’t and cannot be rating that low on the league’s standings for defence. 

They permit their opponents to attain 110.2 factors per recreation, which is ranks them twenty fourth within the league. They rank on the close to backside of the rankings for 3-point defence, permitting a median of 13.7 3-pointers per recreation (twenty seventh) at an effectivity of 38.1 p.c (twenty eighth). 

These total defensive numbers appear to plummet even additional to a league-worst 119.1 once they play on the highway, an enormous motive for his or her abysmal 1-10 document away from the Moda Middle. 

For the group to make any respectable postseason run, led by their All-NBA expertise in Damian Lillard, their effort and efficiency on that finish of the ground must see an uptick.

In any other case, they may lengthen their NBA-best lively playoff streak however will stay within the backside half with simply first-round exits to their identify to point out for.