Game Thread 2025-26 GAME #78 - BLAZERS VS PELICANS - APRIL 2, 2026 - THURSDAY - 7:00 PM - KUNP - BLAZERVISION

[KingSpeed]

The Blazers have a great shot at the 7th seed if they end the season in 8th place.

All they would have to do is win the first game of the play-in (albeit on the road).

I meant we can get 7th place and have HCA in first game of play-in.

 

[Domihatin]

Blazers only had 13 turnovers, I didn't see it as sloppy. Just playing a team with a lot more talent than their record would indicate. To not have a let down game after that Clippers game says something.

Who ARE you??? Someone slinging facts and noticing the reality of the things that actually happened within the game and how the opponent played instead of gross overreactions, blind-pessimism and a warped, ignorant view of basketball? You sure you belong here??

But SERIOUSLY ---I totally agree. I noticed the much lower turnovers and the tenacity and that the Pels with Zion and several key players playing like they cared about winning was making this a legitimately challenging game and the Blazers adjusted and came out on top. Proud of our team and it didn't seem sloppy to me. I saw us fighting and scrapping and the intensity looked almost playoff do-or-die level at times, with both teams fighting hard.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Fully healthy, it should be the goal. They lost a lot of games against weaker teams this year

Funny I thought the opposite, we have one of the better records in the league against the worst teams.

I'd say the issue is more that we don't have the talent to consistently compete with good teams.

Looked it up, we have 25 wins against teams with losing records. SAS, OKC, LAL are the only teams with more.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

We're 15-31 against teams .500 or better.

If we want to be a 50 win team next year the aim should be to get that near .500 while still beating the bad teams.

 

[Domihatin]

We're 15-31 against teams .500 or better.

If we want to be a 50 win team next year the aim should be to get that near .500 while still beating the bad teams.

Well, certainly with less injuries and better luck with the injury Gods and learning from things this season, that is the goal, right? And it's not like the Blazers set out to win less this year against .500 teams.

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

Another fantastic win against a team obviously better than their current record indicates. Way to show grit, resilience and the fight to climb back and take over.
Just another great win as we come close to the end of the season. This is how teams should be ramping up to the playoffs.

Let’s win out!!!!!!
Go Blazers!!!!

 

[julius]

Funny I thought the opposite, we have one of the better records in the league against the worst teams.

I'd say the issue is more that we don't have the talent to consistently compete with good teams.

Looked it up, we have 25 wins against teams with losing records. SAS, OKC, LAL are the only teams with more.

They lost to teams they had no business losing to.

76ers, Lakers early in the season, Dallas twice, hornets @ home, wizards, Chicago, Memphis and Pelicans were all losses they had no business losing too.

Sure they have wins they should have lost, but I'm saying a healthy team with another year of growth should have more wins. Esp against teens that are below them.

 

[wizenheimer]

They lost to teams they had no business losing to.

76ers, Lakers early in the season, Dallas twice, hornets @ home, wizards, Chicago, Memphis and Pelicans were all losses they had no business losing too.

Sure they have wins they should have lost, but I'm saying a healthy team with another year of growth should have more wins. Esp against teens that are below them.

you guys are talking like it's unusual for a team with a better record to lose to lottery teams. That happens every year to just about every 50-ish win team

* Denver has lost to Golden State (twice), Portland, Chicago, Sacramento, Dallas (twice), Brooklyn, Memphis
* Houston has lost to Utah, Dallas (twice), New Orleans, Sacramento (twice), Clippers, Portland (twice), Golden State, Chicago
* Lakers have lost to Golden State, Portland, Clippers (twice), Milwaukee, Sacramento
* Minny has lost to Sacramento, Memphis (twice), Brooklyn, Utah, Chicago, Golden State, New Orleans, Clippers (twice), Portland

on average, I'd estimate that unless a team is elite like OKC or Spurs, they will lose 8-12 games a year they should have won

there is simply enough talent in the NBA that on certain nights talent differentials are flipped by circumstances like cold shooting and sloppy turnovers. There really isn't a difference between 47-50 win teams losing to 37-40 win teams than 37-40 win teams losing to bottom-10 teams. It happens all the time, every year

the key to a 47-50 win season isn't beating up on every bad team they face....that never happens. The key is coming close to splitting games against teams on their level or better

 

[julius]

you guys are talking like it's unusual for a team with a better record to lose to lottery teams. That happens every year to just about every 50-ish win team

* Denver has lost to Golden State (twice), Portland, Chicago, Sacramento, Dallas (twice), Brooklyn, Memphis
* Houston has lost to Utah, Dallas (twice), New Orleans, Sacramento (twice), Clippers, Portland (twice), Golden State, Chicago
* Lakers have lost to Golden State, Portland, Clippers (twice), Milwaukee, Sacramento
* Minny has lost to Sacramento, Memphis (twice), Brooklyn, Utah, Chicago, Golden State, New Orleans, Clippers (twice), Portland

on average, I'd estimate that unless a team is elite like OKC or Spurs, they will lose 8-12 games a year they should have won

there is simply enough talent in the NBA that on certain nights talent differentials are flipped by circumstances like cold shooting and sloppy turnovers. There really isn't a difference between 47-50 win teams losing to 37-40 win teams than 37-40 win teams losing to bottom-10 teams. It happens all the time, every year

the key to a 47-50 win season isn't beating up on every bad team they face....that never happens. The key is coming close to splitting games against teams on their level or better

Did those teams miss as many games due to injuries as the Blazers did?

Did they lose to two glorified g-league teams *while* relatively healthy?

 

[wizenheimer]

Did those teams miss as many games due to injuries as the Blazers did?

a lot of Blazer fans seem to think that no team was injured as much as Portland. That's simply false. About a week ago I posted a comparison of WC playoff/play-in teams missed games by starters. To summarize:

Portland 77; OKC 113; Spurs 57; Denver 126; Lakers 83; Minny 20; Warriors 107; Houston 40; Phoenix 86. The Clippers were too difficult to assess because of all their trades

so no, Portland is about in the middle on games lost by starters. 5 teams have lost more; 3 teams have lost less

I've posted the link from BB Index before where they are trying to actually gauge the quality of lost games. The assumption being that Jokic missing 15 games is not the same as Grant missing 20:

Team Injury Impacts - Basketball Index

www.bball-index.com

based upon that, Portland has actually lost less quality than the league average

the injury excuse doesn't really withstand much scrutiny. A lot of teams have a lot of injuries

 

[Cugel]

why did scoot only play 20 min or so?

 

[Pinwheel1]

why did scoot only play 20 min or so?

Scoot played OK, but I think it was because Jrue and Tisse both were playing really well. Matisse was a +21.

 

[B-Roy]

Scoot played OK, but I think it was because Jrue and Tisse both were playing really well. Matisse was a +21.

Scoot nonchalantly fumbled two basic passes in the backcourt at ~8min left in the 3rd. On the second one Tiago was visibly annoyed. He pulled Scoot out immediately (much quicker than usual), and he didn't come back until the start of the 4th, where he only played a few minutes before being benched the rest of the game.

It was warranted. Scoot sleepwalks through games sometimes and make some mind numbing decisions.

 

[KingSpeed]

a lot of Blazer fans seem to think that no team was injured as much as Portland. That's simply false. About a week ago I posted a comparison of WC playoff/play-in teams missed games by starters. To summarize:

Portland 77; OKC 113; Spurs 57; Denver 126; Lakers 83; Minny 20; Warriors 107; Houston 40; Phoenix 86. The Clippers were too difficult to assess because of all their trades

so no, Portland is about in the middle on games lost by starters. 5 teams have lost more; 3 teams have lost less

I've posted the link from BB Index before where they are trying to actually gauge the quality of lost games. The assumption being that Jokic missing 15 games is not the same as Grant missing 20:

Team Injury Impacts - Basketball Index

www.bball-index.com

based upon that, Portland has actually lost less quality than the league average

the injury excuse doesn't really withstand much scrutiny. A lot of teams have a lot of injuries

Why are you only counting starters and which starters are you counting? We have had Scoot, Shaedon, Grant, Jrue, Sidy, Deni, Clingan, Camara, and Murray all started. Scoot and Sharron have yet to play in the same game this year. Can any other team claim that about key rotation players?

 

[KingSpeed]

Scoot nonchalantly fumbled two basic passes in the backcourt at ~8min left in the 3rd. On the second one Tiago was visibly annoyed. He pulled Scoot out immediately (much quicker than usual), and he didn't come back until the start of the 4th, where he only played a few minutes before being benched the rest of the game.

It was warranted. Scoot sleepwalks through games sometimes and make some mind numbing decisions.

What the fuck are you talking about? Scoot had ZERO turnovers in that game. ZERO.

 

[Chris Craig]

What the fuck are you talking about? Scoot had ZERO turnovers in that game. ZERO.

Maybe he's thinking of Jrue. He did have some turnovers unbefitting of a veteran player.

 

[wizenheimer]

Why are you only counting starters and which starters are you counting? We have had Scoot, Shaedon, Grant, Jrue, Sidy, Deni, Clingan, Camara, and Murray all started.

when Portland is healthy the starting lineup is Jrue-Sharpe-Camara-Deni-Clingan. That's the starting lineup I was counting

every team will have 2nd unit guys starting when starters are injured. Sky is blue

* for OKC, Ajay Mitchell has missed 23 games but he's not a starter; Hartenstein has missed 33 but of the 44 games he's played, 43 has been as a starter; Alex Caruso has missed 24 games but he's not a starter. Wiggins has missed 17...not a starter

* for Spurs, Keldon Johnson hasn't missed any games; but hasn't started any either. Dylan Harper and Kornet have each missed 13; Jeremy Sochan has missed 49. Olynyk has missed 35 games but he's pretty much irrelevant

* For Lakers Rui has missed 14; Gabe Vincent has missed 48; Vanderbilt has missed 17; Hayes has missed 12; Knecht has missed 27

it goes on and on, and very little is revealed by the raw total of missed games when a lot of those misses are by players below replacement level That's why I posted a link to the BB Index ranking. They track the quality of players missing games. Denver missing Aaron Gordon is not like Portland missing Scoot or Wesley

 

[blazerfan11]

Scoot nonchalantly fumbled two basic passes in the backcourt at ~8min left in the 3rd. On the second one Tiago was visibly annoyed. He pulled Scoot out immediately (much quicker than usual), and he didn't come back until the start of the 4th, where he only played a few minutes before being benched the rest of the game.

It was warranted. Scoot sleepwalks through games sometimes and make some mind numbing decisions.

Scoot has been making some fantastic passes to the corner from under the hoop lately.
As we know, this is one of the most efficient shots in the NBA.

"The corner three-point shot is one of the most efficient, non-rim shots in the NBA, boasting high accuracy due to its shorter distance (22 feet) compared to above-the-break threes (23.75 feet). Over 90% of these shots are assisted, usually by corner specialists, yielding over 1.16 points per attempt.

• High Value: The corner 3 is the second most efficient scoring zone, behind shots at the rim, often replacing less efficient mid-range jumpers."

 

[blazerfan11]

I went back and watched the 2nd half. Scoot was 1-6 shooting. His one make was an un-rushed drive past Jeremiah Fears from the 3-point line which ended in a high-banking layup. Some of his misses: missed a 3-pointer, front-rimmed a short-range shot, missed an awkward looking eurostep, and the last shot was a mid-range that was tipped/hit/altered on the way up by Fears, in which Fears took off like a rocket, got the pass from Queen for a layup attempt. (The coaches challenge on the Avdija foul / possible offensive foul by Fears). with 9:59 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

Scoot went out, and on his first possession, Matisse hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer on a pass from Avdija.

With Jrue and Deni on the floor handling the ball, Matisse is the better option, especially when Scoot isn't scoring well.

Matisse might be at his peak right now at 29 years old. He fits in perfectly with Jrue, Deni, Toumani and Williams or Clingan.
He doesn't force the issue, looking for catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and opportunistic scores at the hoop. He doesn't take mid-range shots.

Scoot is still one of the best percentage 3-point shooters over recent games for the Blazers (38.6% over the last 10 games) , and also per-36 one of the best at getting to the free throw line (2nd after Deni at 5.4 free throw attempts per 36 shooting 86% at the free-throw line) , both very important skills in the NBA to be an efficient scorer. What's keeping him back (scoring-wise) is his 2-point shooting.

Speaking of 2-point shooting, look at this contrasting 2-point % in Jrue Holiday's career.

In his first 8 seasons, Jrue always shot below .500, while starting with his 9th season, when he was 27 years old, he has always shot above .500 for the regular season on 2-point shots.
What happened that changed his 2-point shooting % forever? (at least up to now)

something else notable is that Jrue is taking more 3-point shots per game, 6.8, than anytime in his career, and making them at 38.9%, which is pretty good for him with a career average of 37.1%