Bad, say hello to worse. The Portland Trail Blazers dramatic tailspin towards mediocrity (technically, below mediocrity now that their record is 8-9) continued last night as they fell 88-79 to a dreadful Philadelphia 76ers team. The 76ers are firmly in last place and (up until Tuesday) winless against teams from the Western Conference. The loss pushed the Blazers to a 5-9 record in the month of November and now they are closer to the last place Minnesota Timberwolves in the standings than they are the first place Utah Jazz.
Portland’s offense was again horrendous, scoring nearly 22 points under what the 76ers normally allow and closing out the game with a combined 11 points in the final quarter. In the Brandon Roy era the team has never looked this bad, and while four game losing streaks aren’t a sign of the end times, this particular skid will likely hit five game when the Blazers travel to the parquet home court of the Boston Celtics tonight. This slide has also brought about increased criticism of head coach Nate McMillan, whose job security hasn’t quite reached Eric Spoelstra levels—Roy has yet to bump him—but it’s the first time in his tenure in Portland that he seems to have lost control of his team. Maybe the Blazers will bring back Kevin Pritchard as head coach?
Ugh. I’m usually very opinionated but after the last month I couldn’t even guess what’s wrong with this team. They’re missing their shots maybe? (That’s what Nate always says in those post-game interviews. “We need to hit our shots.” No shit Nate? Really? Great coaching analysis.)
The only thing keeping me calm is that the season is still young.
In the game prior to this most recent one, during the 4th quarter meltdown, a time-out was called with like 40 seconds left. It was a crucial moment, and the Blazers HAD to put something together. And Wheels noted that during this time-out Nate didn’t say anything to the team! They all just stood there. What is he, Clarence Thomas? He should try opening his mouth and coaching. Yeah, I wouldn’t be opposed to a new coach.
I don’t know which is more depressing: the constant ongoing injuries, the mounting losses, the fact that nobody is playing well (except for maaaaybe Matthews), or the fact there’s a looming lockout and we may not see a relevant Blazers team again until 2012.