The competition in the Western Conference is extremely tight in Week 12 of the NBA season, and no team is firmly above the rest in the standings. The Portland Trail Blazers, sitting at No. 8 at 18-16, are just four games back of the No. 1 New Orleans Pelicans (22-12).
The Trail Blazers got off to a hot start to the season, but a string of missed opportunities has taken a bit of a nosedive. Guard Josh Hart told reporters during Wednesday’s practice that he thinks the team is better than their allocation.
“I think we are unhappy to be in eighth place. I think we can easily be second. The Denver game we gave up here, the Brooklyn game we gave up here, the Clippers game we gave up here. just these three off the top of our heads, you know, we beat the three we’re, what, 21-13? And we are in second or third place in the West. So we know we gave a couple, you know, OKC games, we should have won both of them, honestly, in my opinion. We know we dug ourselves a hole, but we know we’re a better team than the standings. And obviously, to our credit, as you said, nobody really stood out. We are all two, three, four games out of first place. So, you know, we’ve just got to go in, run, which we have the opportunity to do, and just put the wins together.”
The flip side of this close rivalry is that the Trail Blazers are also just three games out of 12th place in the conference standings. They cannot afford to keep losing chances to win if they intend to stay in the top group of teams.
Fortunately, the Trail Blazers will have a chance to gain some ground right away. Portland next faces the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors, followed by a home game against the league-worst Detroit Pistons.
It’s time for the Trail Blazers to start standing out. Are they the team we hoped they would be after a 9-3 start? Or are they destined for a season of relative mediocrity?
What do you think, Blazer’s Edge community?
