The Portland Trail Blazers have had an interesting first week in the bubble. They’re 2-1 with an important victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday and are still ninth in the West. With Memphis seemingly falling apart even before the Jaren Jackson Jr. injury, there’s a good chance that, at the very least, they secure their spot in the play-in tournament and potentially the playoffs, assuming that they finish with a solid record and the other teams vying for the eighth seed don’t surge too much.
But even with the victory against Houston, there’s one glaring issue: the Blazers have a defense problem.