The Portland Trail Blazers have won 5 of their last 7 games as they continue to flirt with a .500 record, standing at 28-30. However, one of those losses was an embarrassing 157-103 beatdown to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and Portland All-Star Deni Avdija’s ailing back continues to pose problems.
It would seem for those reasons, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann dropped the Blazers from No. 19 to No. 20 in his latest league-wide power rankings. In his takeaways about the team this week, Schuhmann took an analytical look at the not-so-great situation regarding Avdija’s back.
You have to wonder how much Deni Avdija is going to be able to play over the last seven weeks of the season. He played less than a minute in Phoenix on Sunday, leaving early (again) with continued back issues, and he’s played more than 20 minutes in just six of the Blazers’ last 18 games. The Blazers were much better with Avdija on the floor prior, but have been outscored by 18 points per 100 possessions in his limited (193) minutes over this 18-game stretch and have won seven of the 12 games in which he’s played fewer than 20.
Schuhmann also shined a critical spotlight on the Blazers’ turnover problems lately, which were only outdone by a shorthanded Phoenix squad:
Their win in Phoenix ended a streak of 11 straight games where the Blazers committed more turnovers than their opponent. They actually had 21 on Sunday, but the Suns (playing without Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks) committed 23 and scored just 77 points on 94 possessions.
While Avdija will be out due to lower back injury management, the Blazers will take the floor again tonight to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST at the Moda Center.