<\/p>\n
The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the NBA\u2019s biggest afterthoughts for the last couple seasons. After trading away franchise legend Damian Lillard, the franchise went into rebuild mode and flew under the radar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The moves they made went largely unnoticed. Acquiring Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards. Sneakily acquiring Toumani Camara as part of the DeAndre Ayton trade. Drafting Scoot Henderson, which was a move that was met with a lot of fanfare at the time, but the hype around him cooled off after injury and on-court struggles.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While the Blazers had their eyes on competing this season, their season was almost derailed before it even started. Head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested after he first game of the season due to a gambling scandal. It led to Tiago Splitter being named acting head coach and instead of the season falling off the rails, he rallied his guys to get them back to the playoffs. And now, Portland has a chance to pull off one of the biggest shocks of the season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
San Antonio came into this playoffs as one of the favorites to win the championship. They looked dominant in Game One, but now with Victor Wembanyama dealing with a concussion, Portland has new life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not like the Spurs completely crumbled when Wemby went down. They were up nine in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers fought all the way back thanks to their toughness defensively, their relentlessness on the glass, and the masterful performance of Henderson.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On a night where Avdija struggled to create offense, Henderson had the best game of his career. He finished with 31 points and five threes, continuing his strong performance from Game One, where he had 18 points. He is averaging nearly 25 points per game through two games.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Portland\u2019s role players in Jrue Holiday, Robert Williams, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan were all stout defensively and helped shut down San Antonio\u2019s offense throughout the game. Holiday, Williams, and Camara especially played a role in shutting down the Spurs\u2019 offense during clutch time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With Wemby out and the Blazers showing that they can hang with this version of the Spurs, this series is now there for the taking. Harrison Barnes is also inured for San Antonio, which leaves them very thin up front. This is a Blazers team that thrives in the paint and Wemby was the one neutralizer for that. Now, they can lean into their strengths,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Portland now heads home for the next two games, where the home crowd will be hungry to support a team they haven\u2019t seen play in the postseason since 2021. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n