Of all the setbacks, disappointments, and small-scale disasters that have typified the 2019-20 season for the Portland Trail Blazers, nothing depressed me more than Rodney Hood’s blown Achilles.
I wrote 18 months ago that the Blazers looked like office drones — a franchise content to live a mundane life plugging away on expense reports in its cubicle, but giving up on bigger dreams like Ferraris or NBA championships.
In realer terms, from under the shadow of the Pelicans’ ass kicking, it appeared that the Blazers had no path toward meaningful improvement.