The Portland Trail Blazers have cultivated a defensive identity. The hard-nosed negating foundation has given the playing group something to build off while it figures out what it is on the other side
of the ball.
Unfortunately, that established defensive persona, which currently ranks 10th most stingy, was dealt blows in consecutive games last week. Matisse Thybulle suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb in the team’s win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday October 29 and is expected to be back at some point in December.
Two days after the Thybulle injury, Blake Wesley suffered a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot during Portland’s win over the Denver Nuggets and could miss up to 12 weeks following surgery.
While the pair are far from the roster’s two most important pieces, they have been part of the team’s early season success on defense. Both have served at the point of attack, using quick, lateral movement, defensive instincts and length.
Wesley, in particular, has been a truly pleasant surprise. Initially perceived as the Blazers 15th roster spot, the former San Antonio Spurs first round pick was quickly promoted when Scoot Henderson went down with a hamstring injury during the preseason.
Though able to take the ball to the rim and convert on jump shots once or twice a game, the 22-year-old is not being paid to score, illustrated by early shooting splits of 41.2 percent from the field and 20 percent from three. His tenacity and agility, exemplified by his 1.7 steals in 16.3 minutes have been the closest association with his contribution to the team.
Thybulle has been even more impressive on defense, stealing the ball 2.5 times in 12.3 minutes or 7.3 times in 36 minutes. The two-time All Defensive wing initially returned to the court after an injury-plagued 2024-25 without missing a beat defensively, using instincts, long arms and quick-twitch reflexes.
The pair have collectively played a meagre 147 minutes this season but have proven to be required players when healthy. Let’s take a closer look.
The Impact
If you’d told me before the season that Wesley would not only own rotation minutes but his loss would actually be felt, I would have rolled my eyes. Not necessarily because I hadn’t seen enough of him but because he wasn’t actually expected to see rotation minutes.
But after Henderson joined Damian Lillard on the sidelines, somebody was going to have to fill those minutes and Wesley was the next man up. His plight for playing time was helped by the Blazers fast-paced game style and its proclivity for causing fatigue in its more active contributors.
The former Spur grabbed his opportunity with both hands, subsequently spending every minute serving as the consummate role player. He has guarded the other team’s best player at 94 feet, taken on assignments on players much larger than him and registered 3.2 deflections a game with his pressure directly impacting opponent turnovers.
As for Thybulle, I might be biased given the country he represents internationally, but I have a soft spot for the Australian. If he can keep himself on the floor long enough and continue to hit open threes, he can be a key cog in the Blazers chain. While not same level of point-of-attack defender as Toumani Camara, Thybulle might be just as effective in help and broader team defensive schemes. He’s also been converting on offense, hitting four of his six three-point attempts through four games before his injury.
Obviously six attempts is hardly a sufficient sample, but Thybulle has been able to show he can hit the long ball consistently for stretches at a time during his Blazers tenure. He’s also been putting the ball on the floor more, driving and kicking out to willing shooters, adding another piece to his offensive toolkit.
Interestingly, with Thybulle on the floor, the Blazers are better off by 20.1 points per 100 possessions with opponents holding a -7.9 effective field goal percentage. He’s also registering 4.8 deflections a game.
In 147 minutes, the defensive-first duo of Wesley and Thybulle has exemplified who and what this team could be when restricting opponent scoring. The Blazers are largely made up of defensive first guys who can do a couple of things on offense. This defensive depth becomes particularly important given the lack of scoring punch.
But the Blazers don’t have the players to make up for Thybulle and Wesley’s impact. While this probably won’t impact the already ordinary offense, the collective defense that has been propping the team up will no doubt suffer, resulting in drop in the team’s overall play.
Perspective
This team is not great, neither is it terrible with the playing group mired in the middle of the superior Western Conference when it comes to talent. Despite beating both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets over the past week, the squad ranks nowhere near the conference’s two premier teams when it comes to talent.
The depth is great but no team can compete with contenders at the pointy end of the season without star talent that can put the ball through the hoop. Players like Wesley and Thybulle are helping the Blazers stay competitive. Without them the defense suffers and the offense remains average.
For this team to remain close to relevant without star talent, it needs role players like Wesley and Thybulle healthy. In their absence, you’ll see a collection of Caleb Love, Duop Reath, Rayan Rupert and Sidy Cissoko attempt to prove themselves.
While Reath had a standout offensive evening against the Thunder the other night, his game, along with the other three mentioned, are yet to prove they can thrive consistently throughout the NBA marathon season.
Conclusion
The Blazers will go the next few weeks without Thybulle and the better part of three months without Wesley. Others will get their chances to fill the void but ideally, this team needs every inch of depth to be able to compete on the defensive side of the ball in line with this franchise’s new focus.
While the Blazers’ new style is exciting and has the opportunity to be effective, it also relies on more bodies able to take the court to help spell key rotation names executing the energetic game plan. More than ever, the deep bench is no longer the deep bench but guys who, on any night, could be called upon to play rotation minutes, which makes Wesley and Thybulle’s absence more noticeable.
