The Portland Trail Blazers (32-40) aren’t trending too high or too low these days. This past week, the franchise took care of the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets (winning teams both missing their best player) and then succumbed to a powerhouse Boston Celtics squad on Sunday.
That 2-1 mark was enough of a showing for Portland to keep its No. 19 spot in NBA.com’s power rankings, one spot behind the Orlando Magic and one spot in front of the Chicago Bulls. In the write-up accompanying Portland’s ranking, NBA.com writer John Schuhmann spotlighted an effective three-piece combo for the Blazers and the sparkling play of forward Deni Avdija.
The Blazers have had some ins and outs in their starting lineup as they’ve gone 19-12 in the second half of the season (since Game 42), but Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara have all played in (and started) at least 28 of those 31 games. And the Blazers have outscored their opponents by 10.2 points per 100 possessions in 429 minutes with those three guys all on the floor over that stretch.
With a couple more big games last week, Avdija is averaging 23 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists in March. The only other players averaging 20, 10 and five this month are All-Stars Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Blazers are off Monday, before wrapping up a seven-game homestand against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Only 10 more games remain in Portland’s regular season!