Now almost 60 percent of the way through the season, the Portland Trail Blazers are trying to claw themselves out of a hole. Any objective onlooker would have to call this year a massive disappointment. The dreaded eighth seed of mediocrity has become the most realistic, best-case scenario.
Of all the causes, the defense has got to be reasons number one, two, and three. Portland ended the first quarter of the season with the worst defense in the league, They’ve been a tiny bit better in the second quarter but the offense hasn’t kept pace resulting in an abysmal record.