A lot can change throughout an NBA season.
For a frightening example of just how much, look no further than the Dallas Mavericks.
Distraught Dallas
Just nine months ago the Mavs were battling the Boston Celtics for an NBA title. Now the franchise is in peril.
Dallas traded away an inarguable top-five player in the league at the ripe age of 26 in Luka Dončić, lost the star they traded him for to injury after one game in Anthony Davis, and now have lost the veteran who was trying to hold everything together in Kyrie Irving.
Breaking: Dallas Mavericks All-Star Kyrie Irving has suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/VEgTU6iF6S
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 4, 2025
The Mavericks’ season is effectively over. The franchise will be looking towards next year to try and put together a commendable campaign with Davis and, at best, half a season of Irving. Even if the players who are still healthy are motivated, there’s not enough talent available to justify a playoff run.
There’s likely been no worse time to be a Mavericks fan in the franchise’s history, and with ownership raising season ticket prices for next year, a decision that shows no awareness for the present situation, things are seemingly only going to get worse.
But as the saying goes: one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity.
Enter the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers are Back
The Blazers have quietly been the NBA’s biggest overachievers this season.
stat I just dropped on the @trailblazers broadcast:
the blazers are the nba's first team to beat their preseason over/under this season 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mQsz2duZHg
— Mr. Statistician Face Man (@tomhaberstroh) March 1, 2025
Projected to win less than 22 games before the year, Portland already has 28 wins under their belt with 20 games left to go. They currently sit at 12th in the Western Conference standings, 1.5 games back of the Phoenix Suns and four games back of the Mavericks.
Two months ago, any NBA fan would have found it outlandish to suggest that Portland could make up the necessary ground on Dallas and even surpass a healthy Phoenix squad to leapfrog themselves into the play-in. But this is a different Blazers team.
Portland is 15-7 in their last 22 games. Finishing the season at or around that pace would allow them to push for a .500 record. On the back of February’s Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month Toumani Camara, they’ve built a defensive identity that shows up every single night. On the offensive end, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija have taken turns providing 30-point scoring punches.
Locking it down, leading the charge. pic.twitter.com/l3DEfqrceX
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 4, 2025
The advanced stats back up their recent play as well. Since Jan. 19, the Blazers rank second in defensive rating, 13th in offensive rating and seventh in net rating. They’re fourth in the NBA in wins in that same time.
Tough Road Ahead
What’s standing in Portland’s way is that they have the sixth toughest remaining strength of schedule (SOS) according to Tankathon. They must play the Knicks twice, Celtics, Thunder, Nuggets and Cavaliers. Two teams with a more difficult SOS than them are Sacramento and Phoenix. The Mavericks sit at 18th.
A lot has to go right for Portland to make the play-in, and even if they do it begs the question of whether they even want to advance into the postseason, given they owe a lottery-protected first-round pick to Chicago which conveys as soon as Portland makes the playoffs again.
Fans can argue that the turnaround at this point in time is a bad thing since winning leads to virtually no chance at a high draft selection, the potential Chauncey Billups contract extension, and an overextended welcome for veteran players who don’t fit into the future. What they cannot argue, though, is that this version of Portland has elevated itself from a bad team to a playoff-caliber team. If they were in the Eastern Conference, they would be in tenth place and two games back of seventh.
A lot can change over the course of an NBA season, just ask the Blazers.
Leave a comment