Entering All-Star Break, Trail Blazers 'Very Happy With Where We Are'

📍DENVER — With their third loss in a row, the Trail Blazers aren’t entering the All-Star break on a high note.

But the second of this week’s two losses in Denver was far more indicative of the team they’ve been lately than the blowout they suffered on Monday.

At 23-32 going into the break, the Blazers have already won more games than they did all of last season. If the recent run of 10 wins in 11 games did anything, it gave a young team proof of concept.

It gave them reason to be happy with where they are at the break.

“Happier than last year, for sure,” Toumani Camara said.

Down three starters following Wednesday’s news that Deandre Ayton would miss at least four weeks with a calf strain, the Blazers overcame a rough first quarter and battled back in the second half and cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter before losing by 11. Seven players scored in double figures. Donovan Clingan, starting for Ayton, was outstanding again, with his first-ever 20-rebound game.

The result wasn’t what most of their games in the last month have been, but the effort was consistent with the team they’ve been in that time.

“I’m so proud of these dudes,” Chauncey Billups said. “This is a game that, in December or November, could be a 40-point loss. But our dudes fought their butts off. I was so happy for them.”

With the injuries piling up, that may once again be the barometer of success during the final stretch of the season. The hot streak earlier this month briefly brought about talk of a surprise run at the play-in. The injury to Ayton probably puts an end to that. But productive losses are an easier sell when there have been genuine signs of progress.

“We can learn from those losses, for sure,” Deni Avdija said. “We’re taking with us the effort, and how we defend even when we’re down. We’re fighting all the time, and I feel like we’re sharing the ball. We’re not selfish.”

Unlike last year, when there were too many injuries to key players for any real development to take place, there are real positives to point to in mid-February. Avdija and Camara have emerged as the Blazers’ defensive heartbeat, Scoot Henderson (who missed Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury that isn’t believed to be serious) is turning a corner and Clingan went into the break with two of his best games as a pro.

“Last year, we had to figure it out,” Camara said. “At no point we went on a run and won a lot of games. This year, we’re capable of beating great teams. We took a step from last year in maturing and knowing what we’re capable of doing. We have a picture of what team we are and what we want to be. We have proven that it works. It worked more than just for one game.”

“I’m very happy with where we are right now,” Billups said. “I’m happy with where we are as a group. Our young guys continue to take steps.”