@ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST - W...first comeback win of the season. Perfect timing. @ Brooklyn - W...good way to start post All-Star break. Kanter huge off the bench. @ Philadelphia - W...pounded the 76'ers inside without Embid to stop the tide. @ Cleveland - W...gave up a huge lead but righted the ship to be the tanking Cavs. @ Boston - W...Big win against a talented Celtics team that seems to have lost their way. @ Toronto - L...schedule loss but impressed by 'how' they played. A # of things to address in the last 2 minutes but good game. @ Charlotte - W...nice bounce back win after a tough loss in Toronto. Blazers now have 2 bench players who have gone 20 points in a quarter. @ Memphis - L.....that on hurt. Not only a loss to the next to last Grizzlies but how they lost and how no adjustments were made. OKLAHOMA CITY - L...Herculean effort from Dame but gave up a massive amount of points in the paint. PHOENIX - W...righted the ship against the hapless Suns. Game wasn't as close as the score. @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio 7-5 so far on this 15 game stretch. Not bad but losses to Dallas and Memphis kept this from being a stretch that really showed this team has grown. Nice wins over Philly (no Embiid) and struggling Boston but perhaps their best game of this stretch was a loss to the Raptors given that we have the Warriors number right around All-Star break ever year. Blazers somehow need to get 2 out of 3 games in the final stretch of this long, mostly road stretch.
I think they win 11 of next last 16, which puts them at 51 wins. This is actually what I went with at the beginning of the season. And if a team in the west wins 50 games this year thats pretty decent. I know they still need to step up against wc teams, which Im hopeful they can & will.
