NEW ORLEANS — The Portland Trail Blazers on Monday stumbled across the 10-game mark of the 2025-26 NBA season with a heartbreaking defeat at the Orlando Magic.
After allowing the methodical, half-court oriented Magic to dictate the pace for the better part of four quarters, the Blazers unleashed a late 11-0 run to take a stunning lead in the closing seconds. But they were ultimately undone by a Desmond Bane game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in a 115-112 defeat.
It was the Blazers’ second consecutive loss at the beginning of a five-game East Coast trip and it dropped their record to .500 roughly three weeks into the season.
It’s a respectable start for a franchise easing away from a multi-year rebuild into a playoff contender. But after earning multiple wins over some of the NBA’s elite, even the Blazers (5-5) would acknowledge they should be entering Game No. 11 with a winning record.
What have we learned about this team so far this season?
Here’s a look at what we know, what we think we know and what we still don’t know about the Blazers after 10 games:
WHAT WE KNOW: THE BLAZERS ARE A TOUGH OUT
The season is less than a month old, but the Blazers already have recorded multiple impressive victories over some of the crème de la crème of the NBA.
They dismissed the Golden State Warriors by 20 points after an emotional 48 hours and earned mettle-building wins over the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder and title-contending Denver Nuggets during a six-game stretch at home last week.
Even in defeat, the Blazers mostly have held their own — four of Portland’s five losses have been decided by five or fewer points and each of its last six games has included “clutch time,” when the score is within five points at some point in the final five minutes. The Blazers pushed the Minnesota Timberwolves to the edge of defeat on opening night and squandered a win in the final two minutes at the Miami Heat
And it’s not like the Blazers have played a bunch of pushovers; nine of their first 10 games have come against opponents that made the playoffs last season. There has been one notable flop — a 123-115 head-scratching defeat at home to the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers — but this is the NBA. It happens. More than anything, this team on the rise has proven to the rest of the league that a game against the Blazers is no longer an automatic win.
“It’s not going to be an easy night for anyone who comes in here or who plays against us,” point guard Jrue Holiday said earlier this month. “I think that’s part of our identity; to make it tough on teams.”
The Blazers’ fast-paced offense and relentless full-court pressure defense poses a unique — and often frustrating — challenge for opposing teams. And the long and athletic roster, combined with a “Make Em Uncomfortable” DNA, is something few teams look forward to facing.
Just ask Golden State All-Star Draymond Green, who praised the Blazers in a recent episode of his podcast.
“Portland is a tough, tough game,” Green said. “They’ve got a bunch of length. Switchable guys. Defensively, they are all 6-foot-7, 6-8, can move their feet, can guard positions one-through-five. Jrue Holiday’s leadership is proven to be invaluable for this team. They’ve got centers … they’ve got young scoring wings that can go get it. They’ve got defenders. They’ve got a true point guard in Jrue Holiday.
“That team is the young team that I think a lot of people aren’t looking out for that I think is going to have a good year.”
WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW: DENI AVDIJA IS AN EARLY-SEASON ALL-STAR CANDIDATE
Holiday has been as good as advertised during his first 10 games in Portland. Jerami Grant looks rejuvenated in his new role as the Blazers’ Sixth Man. Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara have had plenty of highlight-reel moments.
But no Blazers player has performed better than Deni Avdija, who has emerged as an early-season All-Star candidate and appears to be blossoming into a star.
The sixth-year forward, acquired by general manager Joe Cronin in a trade with the Washington Wizards before last season, is averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, while shooting 47% from the field, including 37% from three-point range. Avdija’s ability in the open court is well-known and his turbo-charged drives to the hoop have become his M.O. But he also has taken on an amplified playmaking role in the wake of injuries to point guards Scoot Henderson and Blake Wesley, and Avdija has seen an uptick in production amid the added responsibility, emerging as an offensive force all over the court.
He ranks 13th in the NBA in scoring and is averaging career highs in scoring, assists, field goals made (7.9), free throw percentage (85.7), free throws (7.2) and three-pointers (2.5). All the while, Avdija has increased his scoring by 8.6 points per game, his assists by 1.0 per game and his made field goals by 2.3 per game from last season.
“Everybody knows how good of a player he is,” Blazers backup center Duop Reath said last week.
But is he All-Star good? It’s too early to say with any certainty, but he’s making a pretty darn good case so far.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley throws down a dunk
Portland Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley suffered a broken bone in his foot.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: WHETHER THE BLAZERS LIGHTNING-QUICK PACE OF PLAY IS SUSTAINABLE
Heading into the season, the Blazers pledged to play fast, play hard and play a fun brand of basketball. And they have not disappointed.
They seek out fast breaks. They shoot early and often in shot clocks, making the old Mike D’Antoni “Seven seconds or less” offense look slow. They regularly apply full-court pressure. They cut and move and rotate with heavy frequency in half-court sets.
Through 10 games, Portland is playing the second-fastest pace in the NBA, averaging 105.35 possessions per game. And amid all the speed, the Blazers have delivered plenty of mayhem, too.
They lead the NBA in steals (10.6 per game) and forced turnovers (19.4), rank second in points off turnovers (23.6) and deflections (24.0) and fifth in fast-break points (18.7).
The Blazers play so fast and so hard that Splitter substitutes liberally and in waves, as if he’s a hockey coach using line changes. But the speed and relentlessness of Portland’s style have caused more than one scribe to ask a fair question: It is sustainable?
The Blazers already have suffered injuries to three key players. Henderson was lost days before training camp with a hamstring injury. Matisse Thybulle underwent thumb surgery on Halloween and is expected to be sidelined more than a month. And Wesley — one of the team’s most pleasant early-season stories — broke a bone in his right foot and won’t play for two to three months.
Were the injuries byproducts of fluke incidents? Or byproducts of the Blazers’ style?
It’s impossible to say for sure. But this much is certain: The Blazers aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
“It’s really hard to ask a team to play less hard,” Splitter said. “I’m not going to do that. I think it’s just part of who these guys are. It’s not just me pushing them. They want to play that way, they play that way. Those guys have (that in their) DNA. Toumani, Jrue, those guys play hard. It doesn’t matter what the scheme or what team they play, they just play hard.”
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