Toumani Camara was one of the pleasant surprises of the 2024-25 season for the Portland Trail Blazers. Rising from obscurity out of the flurry of trades surrounding Damian Lillard, Camara assumed a position
in Portland’s starting lineup and in the hearts of Blazers fans. His hard-working, blue-collar approach to the game (along with his improbable ascension) made him an instant fan favorite.
This year, though, things haven’t been going as well. More than one Portland fan has expressed concern over Camara in the Blazer’s Edge Mailbag, including the reader who gave us this submission:
Dave,
What’s happened to Toumani Camara? He doesn’t look like the same player since he got that new contract. I wouldn’t figure Tou as a guy to slack off after he got paid but I also know what my eyes are telling me. Have you got another explanation?
Walt
Don’t despair. We have to remember that we’re talking about a third of a season here. 24 games is a glorified stretch, not a career-defining span. Everything we see and say about Toumani Camara may change in a week.
To wit: over his last three games, Camara has shot 3 of 5, 6 of 10, and 5 of 10 from distance. Those are huge numbers! Things can turn just like that, especially with shooting.
But overall, I’d say Camara’s early-season struggles amount to two things: too much and too little.
Camara is being asked to do too much on the defensive end. He’s often the point-of-attack defender in halfcourt plays while also pressing full-court. He pressed last year too, but after that he shared defensive duties. Some of his best moments came as a help defender, either coming in from the side for the steal or sliding over in front of a driver, drawing the charge. Those things made him special.
This year Portland is trading “special” for “consistent”. With Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson out, the perimeter defensive choices boil down to Camara and Deni Avdija. Avdija’s role on this team is clear right now: push the ball hard on offense, score a lot. Placing the vanguard spot of the defense on him on top of that would be too much. So Camara gets the call.
All the energy that Deni gets to conserve by playing in the team defense, Toumani expends. He’s Atlas, holding up the world for the sake of his teammates. At this point, there’s no other choice.
That job assignment has costs. One is getting visibly burned by very good offensive players on the other side. That’s not Camara’s fault. Offense is going to prevail over defense much of the time. As the poster child for Portland’s defense, Camara gets the brunt of the blame even when he carries a little over one-fifth of the actual culpability (and even though sometimes it’s nobody’s fault).
The other cost is fatigue. That’s going to impact Camara’s defensive rotations.
Remember those slide-overs and daring steals? They all require targeted, instant movement. Camara doesn’t have the luxury to leave certain players or positions, especially if he’s up high on defense, watching the primary scorer/ball-handler. But when he does, where will he find the energy to recognize the play, move into position, execute, and then recover? He actually does this multiple times per game, but to expect a steady diet is a bit much.
Aragorn can man the gate or the wall or the tower or the hole that Saruman’s orc just blasted in the foundation at Helm’s Deep. Even if he’s a king in waiting with a super-cool sword, he can’t be at all four places at once. If he tries, he’s going to do more running than fighting and he’ll be exhausted. Camara is Portland’s Strider in that way.
Energy expenditure may also have something to do with Camara’s slumping numbers on offense. Long-range jumpers are the first thing to do when you’re tired, followed quickly by drives. Those two things encompass approximately 100% of Camara’s offense.
There’s more to it than that, though. Toumani’s offensive struggles fall into the “too little” category, as in “too little help”
Last year opponents had Avdija and Anfernee Simons to watch, followed in quick succession by Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, and Deandre Ayton. I won’t argue that combination as superior to Portland’s current lineup, but you can see how Camara would be the last person on the list defenses would care about. Sharpe seldom draws a double-team unless he’s hard-charging to the rim and Grant slumped hard all season, but most of those players merited extra defensive attention on the catch. That left a high likelihood of Camara finding an open shot in the corner or an empty seam down which to drive.
Avdija is still on the team. He’s scoring better than ever. That’s one player. Who comes after? Sharpe still isn’t shifting the defense. Grant has bounced back offensively but he’s taking only 13 shots per game, just a little bit more than Camara himself. Holiday is out. Henderson is out. The next five Blazers in shot attempts per game are Caleb Love, Donovan Clingan, Kris Murray, Sidi Cissoko, and Robert Williams III. Instead of being fifth on the defensive watch list, Toumani now finds himself third. That’s a big difference.
Unless Sharpe or Grant go on a huge streak, opposing defenses are going to stay home against Camara. And it shows. Toumani isn’t built for covered shots. His isolation drives are not good. Against a shifted defense he has a chance. Against a committed defender, it’s still not working for him most possessions.
That leaves Camara fulfilling one golden command on offense: if you’re ever open, you’ve got to hit the three-pointer. That’s it!
And indeed, Toumani’s three-point attempts are up to 7.0 per game this year from 4.6 last season and 2.5 his rookie year. Unfortunately, up until this week, those shots–open or covered–haven’t been falling. Which means basically 100% of his offensive impact has gone swirling down the drain.
That’s not meant to roast Camara, rather to show how thin the offensive thread is for him right now. The difference between brilliant game and non-impact might come down to two shots. Hit them in rhythm and he looks like the GOAT. Miss them slightly and he looks like the other kind of goat.
When the Blazers surround Camara with better offensive players again–when his shots come more predictably and wider-open–I expect his percentages will rise to their former levels, if not beyond. Until then, both he and the Blazers will have to take what they get.
Honestly, I’m not sure there’s a player on the whole squad who will be affected as negatively by all the injuries and disruption to the rotation as Camara is. That’s not about his individual talent. It’s about the significance of his impact.
Think of Camara as a calligraphy artist. With an open room, a flat table, and immaculate paper, he’s going to produce masterpieces. Crumple up his canvas and make him work during an earthquake, though? The results won’t look as pretty even though he’s still every bit the artist he was before.
Hold on your assessment of Toumani Camara’s ultimate value until you see the team the Blazers form around him in fuller bloom. You’ll be able to perceive his contributions more clearly then. Until that happens, it’s going to be difficult to judge his play. You’ll just have to appreciate the great parts and hope the rest shores up.
Thanks for the question! You can always send yours to blazersub@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer as many as possible!
