Blazers Show All-Around Struggles Against Spurs

For the first time this season, the Portland Trail Blazers struggled in most facets against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Nov. 7. 

Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs continues to prove why he is one of the most talented players in the league. He finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists in only 24 minutes.

Wembanyama's limited minutes were a result of a dominant third quarter by the Spurs. The Blazers went into the locker room at halftime trailing by 15; they got outscored by San Antonio by 18 in the third quarter.

It was an all-around lackluster effort for Portland. Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija combined for four points. The starting lineup scored only 15 points. 

A bright spot came with their young core. Yang Hansen scored 12 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. It was Hansen's first career double-double. Chris Youngblood added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes.

To the Blazers' credit, playing back-to-back games is not easy, especially when one is at home and the other is on the road. On Nov. 6, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, then had to hop on a plane and rush home to prepare for their game against San Antonio.

Some reports say that Portland arrived back in Portland from Los Angeles at 5 a.m. Fans could see it on the court as well. From the opening tip, the entire roster looked dazed.

San Antonio had the luxury of playing the Sacramento Kings the night before and handling them with ease, winning 124-109.

Twelve different players played double-digit minutes on Saturday.

Portland got outrebounded by 13, shot 9-of-35 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

It's an easy game to flush. Portland's next game is on Tuesday, Nov. 10, against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Moda Center. In a rare occurrence, Oklahoma City will stay overnight in Portland and play the Blazers again on Nov. 11. 

Portland has dropped the last two contests after starting the season 6-1. It's not going to get any easier. After back-to-back games against the Thunder at home, they travel to Sacramento, then go to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves in two games.

Coach Micah Nori has an important week ahead of him. If they can split the Thunder and defeat the Kings in the Blazers' second NBA Cup game, they can be right back on track.