Blazers ruin Warriors chances of going undefeated, there will be revenge

The dream of a spotless season is dead, but give credit to Portland for fighting through the adversity of their coach being put on indefinite leave.

Wellp, we’re not gonna go 82-0 this season despite what I’ve been telling all my closest friends and family. The Golden State Warriors are indeed beatable, something we didn’t know after they survived a nasty onslaught from Luka Doncic on opening night, and then another weathered another barrage from the greatest dunking power forward of all time-turned-elite sniper Aaron Gordon in the home opener.

The Portland Trail Blazers smacked the Dubs 139-119 in Oregon to give the Bay’s team their first loss on the year.

Twas the second night of their first back-to-back of the season, which means they were playing two games in two nights with the oldest roster in the history of basketball depending on who you let tell it.

There’s something carrying over from last season for me. Watching the Thunder and Pacers fan bases in teary eyed frothing enthusiasm for their teams kinda reminded me that each team has their own narrative.

And there are teams with narratives that I hadn’t really considered because for a long time during the Warriors dynasty I didn’t want to bother myself with learning the stories of soon to be dead men. Why would I care about how much the New Orleans Pelicans believed in Anthony Davis?? They were food to us!!!

But now as the Warriors are scratching and clawing their way to another championship ring heist to confirm that the 2022 title run was not their last dynastic laugh, there’s hella other teams that are looking at the Dubs with hungry eyes and empty bellies.

Take the Portland Trail Blazers and their narrative. A proud franchise that for most of my lifetime have put out entertaining squads with fascinating characters like Oakland’s very own Damian Lillard, career shortened Brandon Roy /Greg Oden, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, Rasheed “E-40’s former opp” Wallace, late stage capitalism Scottie Pippen, and many more!

The Dame/CJ McCollum era Blazers were very entertaining and perennially in the postseason. Sadly for them, they often ran into the Golden State Warriors buzzsaw, breaking McCollum’s spirit.

“After McCollum says he was mad about both Durant and DeMarcus Cousins joining Golden State, KD fires back with, “Why are you mad about this stuff?” Then comes the good stuff. McCollum justifies the anger by saying that the Warriors have beat the Blazers, before Durant ruthlessly interjects with “You know you guys aren’t gonna win a championship.”

McCollum tries to say that Portland has a chance, and Durant breaks into a fit of laughter. It’s ruthless, competitive, and hilarious, all at once.”

The Warriors eliminated the Trail Blazers with maddening ease, losing only one game (!) over three playoff series between the Western Conference neighbors. That fan base must have blue and gold PTSD. And then in the midst of a four year playoff drought, their coach gets jammed up federally on some gambling scandal!

The Performance That Demanded Respect

But here’s what Friday night proved: adversity can forge unity in ways comfort never will.

With Coach Chauncey Billups on administrative leave following his arrest in a federal gambling investigation, assistant coach Tiago Splitter had approximately 24 hours to prepare for his first game as interim head coach. The basketball gods smiled on him with a Warriors team playing their second game in as many nights, legs heavy, defensive rotations just a half-step slow.

The Blazers came out playing like men possessed. Eight players scored in double figures, led by Deni Avdija’s 26 points and Jerami Grant’s 22 off the bench. This wasn’t some fluke performance built on prayer and three-point variance. Portland shot 53.8% from the field and 47.1% from three while the Warriors managed just 43.8% and 42.1% respectively.

The second quarter told the entire story. Portland outscored Golden State 41-28, building a cushion that felt insurmountable even as Stephen Curry poured in 35 points. You could see the defensive breakdowns accumulating, the Warriors unable to generate the stops necessary to fuel their transition game.

This loss exposed the mathematical reality Steve Kerr faces all season; at some point the bench guys gotta dominate. I’ve seen this team win 73 games; the bench gotta ball out. It’s too much talent for that not to be the case. The bench combined for just 30 points compared to Portland’s 66. That’s not a typo. Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody combined to shoot 3-of-15 from the field with 4 turnovers.

And when your starters need rest, you need someone, anyone, to maintain the defensive intensity that defines Warriors basketball. Friday night, that depth simply wasn’t there. Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green both finished with 16 and 12 points respectively, but their defensive impact never materialized. Jimmy Butler III managed 14 points in 27 minutes but couldn’t generate the efficient scoring needed to keep pace. The Warriors attempted 39 free throws and made 33, but when you’re giving up 139 points, all the free throw shooting in the world won’t save you.

The Blazers Blueprint Forward

What Portland showed us matters beyond this single game. They demonstrated that even in chaos, even with your head coach facing federal charges, you can find meaning in competition. Splitter’s message to his team was simple: “We’ve got to move forward, we’ve got a job to do.”

That kind of mental fortitude, combined with legitimate talent, makes Portland a team worth monitoring. They’re not contenders, not yet. But they’re building something that feels familiar to anyone who watched the Warriors’ 2012-13 season, that year before the revelation when you could sense the foundation being poured.

Avdija looks comfortable as a primary scoring option. Grant provides veteran scoring punch. If this roster stays healthy and Splitter (or whoever ultimately coaches this team) maintains this emotional intensity, the Blazers could surprise some people.

Looking Ahead

For the Warriors, this loss functions as a reality check rather than a crisis. They’re 2-1, which given the compressed schedule and roster age, feels about right. The key now is managing minutes intelligently, finding bench contributors who can provide 10-15 quality minutes, and accepting that not every back-to-back will result in victory.

The championship window remains open, but it’s narrower than we’d like to admit. Every regular season loss to a rebuilding team carries opportunity cost. The goal isn’t perfection but positioning, securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs so that when it matters most, the legs are fresh and the defensive rotations sharp.

For now, give Portland their flowers. They earned this win, playing with purpose and precision when they could have easily folded under the weight of organizational chaos. Basketball has a funny way of revealing character. On Friday night in Portland, we saw two teams heading in different directions, one fighting age and expectations, the other fighting to establish an identity beyond disappointment.

The Blazers are being reborn before our eyes, following the blueprint their coach gave them before the feds came knocking. Portland just put the league on notice: they’re not tanking anymore. They’re hunting.

Or maybe they got lucky. We’ll see ‘em again REAL SOON.