This playoff run was the final chance for this Blazers team
By George Pritchard ‘23
It is May 12, 2019. In Denver, the Portland Trail Blazers just beat the Nuggets in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals. CJ McCollum scored 37 points and closed the game out for the underdog Trail Blazers. Coach Terry Stotts was in the running for Coach of the Year in the NBA and star guard Damian Lillard, despite playing poorly in the Denver series, had sent home the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, with an all-time great playoff buzzer-beater. Rip City fans were riding high, as the potential for the franchise’s first title since 1977 was on the horizon.
Fast forward two years, and the feeling in Portland is much different. But this time the feeling isn’t hope or excitement for much of Rip City. It’s frustration.
The Blazers just lost a playoff series with the Denver Nuggets, who were playing without their second best player, Jamal Murray. Lillard averaged 35 points per game in the series, and set an NBA playoff record for most threes in a game, and a series, but it wasn’t enough, as the Blazers lost 4-2.
This season was the final chance for this Blazers squad. It is time to blow up this current Blazers core. But how did we get here?
Since the end of the Denver series in 2019, it has been a roller coaster for the Blazers. They got swept in a very rough fashion against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, despite holding double digit leads in three of the four games they lost. The roster shifted a bit, with the departure of forwards Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless, but the core of the team remained untouched.
Then came an injury-plagued 2019-2020 season, which was of course cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the point that the season was postponed, the Blazers were 29-37, the worst record at the point of the season since the 2012-2013 season, and questions were being raised about coach Terry Stotts, and the viability of the Lillard and McCollum backcourt.
However, Portland went on a miraculous run in the NBA Bubble in Orlando, going 7-2 and rescuing their playoff hopes by snagging the eight seed in the Western Conference. Lillard won MVP of the Bubble, but the Blazers did fall in the first round of the 2020 playoffs in five games to LeBron James and the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite that, there was optimism coming into this season. The acquisition of former All-Defensive team member Robert Covington from the Houston Rockets, as well as a healthy Lillard, McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, plus the development of wing Gary Trent Jr. once again raised hopes of the faithful Blazer fans that this could be the year.
Things have once again been bumpy for Portland this year though. Nurkic fractured his wrist in just the 12th game of the season and McCollum broke his foot in the 13th. Both of these injuries meant both players missed at least 25 games. Despite this, the Blazers stayed afloat and in the playoff mix in the West, mainly due once again to the heroics of Lillard.
The Blazers also made a blockbuster trade at the trade deadline, dealing Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood for guard Normal Powell from the Toronto Raptors. Powell is an established scorer, averaging 19 points per game this year, but his fit alongside Lillard and McCollum was brought into question, as three starters under 6’4” is certainly uncommon in today’s NBA.
The Blazers had a bumpy end to the season, losing six games in a row at one point, but they did rally down the stretch of the season, winning nine of their final 11 games to claim the six seed in the Western Conference, and set up this first round matchup with the Nuggets. But this playoff run needed to be in the final chance to prove themselves for this Blazers squad, and they came up short.
Neil Olshey, the president of basketball operations for the Trail Blazers, has largely played it safe over the past few years in Portland. The Blazers have had the same head coach, and top three players over the past four years, consistency unheard of in today’s NBA.
The Blazers have made the playoffs eight straight years, the longest streak in the NBA. However, the goal of this team shouldn’t just be making the playoffs; it should be winning a championship, and truth be told, apart from their run in 2019, the Blazers haven’t been close. And time isn’t unlimited here in Rip City.
The Blazers have truly been blessed in their drafting of Lillard. Not just for his spectacular play, with six All-Star selections and five All-NBA team selections, but with his mentality.
Lillard is one of the only superstars in the entire NBA that has never changed teams. And unlike Steph Curry, who has also never changed teams, Lillard has never won a ring. His loyalty to Portland and his team is often praised by pundits and players alike, and even Lillard himself, saying, “Loyalty is my biggest flaw. I’m too solid for this weird ass era.”
Additionally, after the Blazers were eliminated this season, Lillard posted a quote on Instagram from Nipsey Hussle, reading, “How long should I stay dedicated?”
Lillard will turn 31 this summer and is clearly frustrated with the team. His prime won’t last forever and the Blazers need to commit to making an actual run at a championship with Lillard before it’s too late.
What can the Portland Trail Blazers do specifically though, to make themselves championship contenders, is a question that has been posed countless times in Rip City. Portland is not a big market, so top-tier free agent signings are basically out of the equation. That leaves trades as the only real options to improve the team now.
Neil Olshey has utilized trades before, with the aforementioned Covington and Powell trades, but those haven’t been enough to contend for a championship. If the Blazers need to get more aggressive in their changes to become a real contender.
The first and most obvious change is one that has already happened. Fire Head Coach Terry Stotts. Stotts has been a solid coach for the past nine years, but his inability to coach defense and to make adjustments mid-game is enough to warrant his removal. His departure was likely impending even before this Denver series, as NBA Insider Shams Charania ranked Stotts as the likeliest coach to be fired earlier this year.
Both the fans and players know it is time for change as well, as Lillard after the game said, "I don’t know what a shake up looks like or what changes will be made, but obviously it wasn’t good enough. Obviously where we are isn't good enough to win a championship, if it's not good enough to get out of a first round series with two of their best three or four players not on the floor."
Central Catholic sophomore Hayden Eberwein, a lifelong Blazer fan who has seen the ups and downs of the franchise, said prior to the firing, “Stotts needs to go. He’s not necessarily a bad coach, but the team needs a change.”
Blazers center Nurkic, who struggled with fouls in this series against the Nuggets, was asked whether he wanted to return to Portland next year. “In the right situation, yes," said Nurkic.” What is the right situation? We'll see. I don't know yet. Because this is not it." He, along with the fanbase, seemed fed up with Stotts, and was perhaps ready to see the coach’s tenure come to an end.
The second change the Blazers need to make is a much more controversial one in Portland. Trade McCollum.
McCollum has been a staple of the Blazers for the past seven years. The NBA’s most improved player in 2015-16 has put up consistent scoring numbers throughout his career and is known as one of the premier shot-creators in the league. However, McCollum has never made an All-Star game, and his play in this Denver series was very poor.
To be getting paid $31 million next year, and the second best player on a team that wants to contend for a championship, not being an All-Star is simply not good enough, in a league filled with superstars on the same team.
In regards to a McCollum trade, Eberwein said, “Yes, 100%. I love C.J, but we have enough offensive firepower without him, we need defense. The only issue is Dame won’t want him to leave, but you have to do what you have to do.”
Catlin Gabel sophomore Owen Cooper said, “C.J and Terry Stotts should absolutely not be on the team next year.”
The third and final change the Blazers need to make is utilizing their young assets to improve the team. The Blazers do have young talent, such as 21-year-olds Anfreenee Simons and Nassir Little. Rebuilding teams would love players with potential like them, and combined with first-round draft picks, they could get the Blazers another star.
These moves are risky, and do break up the consistency Portland has had, but to contend for a championship, Olshey has to make them, after losing in the first round for the fourth time in five years.
But Lillard won’t be around forever, and his loyalty to Portland may suffer if the team keeps coming up short.