The Portland Trail Blazers aren’t heading to the postseason this season and that’s not a surprise given the current rebuilding status of the organization. With that being said, the remaining games are still important despite the playoffs not being in the picture.
Development is Key
The Blazers are a very young team, with players who need to have strong performances on a nightly basis to improve their skills and reach their potential ceiling. Even though there were no postseason expectations from media or fans, the players and coaching staff will always put that pressure on themselves regardless of where the team finished in the standings the season before. Elite athletes are competitive, that’s part of the reason they’ve made it to this point. General managers may not always put their team in a position to succeed, but players and coaching staff don’t tank and if they’re okay with losing, that’s an issue.
Players like Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and even Deandre Ayton have a lot of room to improve. They’re not in their prime just yet, but the latter two are getting very close. Simons has been on a strong trajectory so far in his career, he gets better every season and the 2023-24 season hasn’t been any different. His efficiency has dropped a bit, but given the fact that he doesn’t have a player like Damian Lillard on the roster to handle the ball most of the night, he’s had quite a bit more responsibility which makes that justifiable. His assists per game have gone up from 4.1 last season to 5.5 so far this season. His overall scoring has increased as well, going from 21.1 points per game to 23.0. One often overlooked area of his game that’s improved is his free throw efficiency. Not only has he gotten more opportunities at the stripe this season, he’s been making a lot more of them as well. He went from a free throw percentage of .894 in 2022-23 to .917 this season. He’s on the right track, and he can use these last games to learn without consequences.
The third overall pick from last year’s NBA draft Scoot Henderson has struggled at times this season, as shown by his performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, March 13th. He went one for eight from the field, and it was not the type of game that a player of his caliber should have often, but as he continues to learn the NBA it will happen occasionally. He’s seemingly gotten more freedom to do as he pleases as the season goes on, and as a result, he’s been shooting a lot more than we saw in October. Even if he struggles now and then, more minutes and practice in a game scenario at the NBA level will only help him.
Ayton is one of the older players of the new Blazers core, and there’s a chance he’s not seen as a part of the organization long-term. These last games are a perfect time to see what he brings to the table, and if he’s better to keep for the remainder of the rebuild, or if management would be better off moving him for some other assets that could help the team in the long run. He struggled to start the season, but he’s quickly become one of the most effective players on the team, putting up at least 20 points in each of the last five games.
Time to Evaluate
The last few games also allow both management and ownership the opportunity to evaluate those below them and decide whether or not they’ll be back next season. Head coach Chauncey Billups hasn’t been the most popular person with Trail Blazers fans, and it may be worth questioning whether or not he’s the right man for the job as the organization tries to turn things around. Overall, he seems like a strong development coach but he may not be the coach who ends up taking the team to the playoffs when the time comes.
It’ll also allow for management to evaluate the players who are on the fringe of the roster. Players like Ibou Badji, Kris Murray, and Duop Reath aren’t going to be stars for the organization but they could be quality role players, however, that may not be the case for all of them as the team starts to improve.
Despite the fact that the Trail Blazers won’t be in the playoffs this season, there’s still a lot of important work that needs to be done by management and the coaching staff as they make preparations for not only next season but the long-term future.
Northwest Sports Desk 