Anyone with an eye for discounts will be familiar with the gray-market, knock-off industry, found in import stalls and flea markets everywhere. For the low, low price of $35 you can find a hand-crafted bag from Screwy Vuitton or a set of heels from Skeeves St. Laurent.
A similar principle held on Sunday afternoon as the Portland Trail Blazers met the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 82 of the two teams’ respective seasons. We didn’t quite get LeBronk James and Fluka Doncic, but it was close. The Blazers rested their top seven (7) scorers. The Lakers started Bronny James. (What else need be said? And maybe scratch that “LeBronk” comment above.) The end result was a streaky, fractured game in which defenses worked either not at all or way too well, shots missed by a mile and a half, and the Blazers beat the Lakers, 109-81. Portland earned a 36-46 overall record for the 2024-25 season.
There’s no meaningful way to analyze this kind of affair seriously. Instead let’s break down the basics.
What Stood Out
Offensive Rebounds—The Blazers amassed an incredible 27 offensive rebounds in this one. (They only had 29 defensive rebounds, nearly making an impossible statistical oddity reality.) The Lakers had no bigs and no real big men. Portland punished them on the glass, which kept the opportunities for offense low and the looking over shoulders high.
Paint Points—Unsurprisingly, that meant Portland outscored their opponent 52-34 in the lane. That made the game easy.
Turnovers—Forcing 21 turnovers from the third-string Lakers was no huge feat, but it sure helped.
Who Stood Out
Donovan Clingan had a field day against his smaller counterparts with 12 points on 6-10 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He played just 25 minutes, so those stats are pretty impressive.
Rayan Rupert had a good showing off the bench with 13 points on 5-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block in 27 minutes.
What It Meant
The victory put the Blazers in a tie with the Phoenix Suns for the 9th- and 10th-worst records in the NBA this season. Phoenix lost 109-98 to the Sacramento Kings just before Portland’s game ended.
As a result, the two teams will split the lottery odds of those positions. Portland’s shot at the top overall pick dropped from 4.5% to 3.75%. Their chances at the Top 4 fell from 20.3% to 17.1%.
Up Next
The Blazers now head into the off-season. Their next significant event will likely be the 2025 NBA Lottery Drawing in May. Between now and then we’ll have full coverage of the off-season, recaps of team and player development from the year, more thoughts on the Chauncey Billups extension, and more. Stick with Blazer’s Edge through the summer and we’ll discover (and/or debate) how the team’s fortunes change over the coming months!
