The Portland Trail Blazers went 1-3 this week with all four matchups coming as part of a long five-game road trip. They picked up their lone win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and fell to the Toronto Raptors,
Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
With a couple of close losses supplementing their win, it was a somewhat encouraging week for the Blazers despite the poor record. There were a couple of bright spots, including this week’s Blazer of the Week: Toumani Camara.
Camara averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game this week. However, that is including a one-point, two-rebound outlier against Detroit. He scored a season-high 21 points against the Raptors and followed it up with 17 points in Cleveland. He shot 47.2% from the field and 42.9% from three for the week.
When his shot is falling, Camara’s shooting ability allows him to operate as a high-level release valve for driving teammates like Deni Avdija to kick out to with confidence. He has struggled with his shooting from deep at points this season, but this week showed what type of offensive weapon he can be if he can be a consistent threat from downtown.
That’s not to mention his defense. Camara is known for matching up opposite the best player on a team. This week he saw reps against Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Donovan Mitchell and Cade Cunningham. That group of stars struggled to beat Camara consistently when matched up one-on-one. Although Portland’s defense has slipped in recent weeks, Camara is still playing at a very high level.
This week’s honorable mention is Jerami Grant.
Grant averaged 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this week. He was a relatively consistent source of offense for Portland, although he did struggle with efficiency. He shot just 41.0% from the field, but made 40.0% of his shots from deep. He thrived as a catch-and-shoot threat, where he has found a lot of success this season, but struggled when he had the ball in his hands in isolation. The Blazers seem to like Grant in the catch-and-shoot role more and more as he continues to increase his frequency from those spots.
What Blazer impressed you the most this week? Let us know in the comments!
