This Portland Trail Blazers squad is currently ranked 27th on the defensive end. This is a massive issue and it’s been like this all season. Their inability to contain the other team means that when they have great nights offensively they still struggle to close the game out.
Though this team has obviously had the injury bug all season, the defensive problems have been the other main reason that they haven’t been able to stay in touch in the playoff race. The personnel they have may mean that the below issues can’t be addressed. This is unfortunate, but if they are serious about making the playoffs then they will need to be better on defense.