The Portland Trail Blazers went 1-2 this week, earning a win over the Miami Heat to start the week, then falling to the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics in the absence of Deni Avdija.
During a week where Portland’s offense struggled with consistency, one player really stepped up his performance; this week’s Blazer of the Week Toumani Camara.
Camara averaged 16.7 points, 7.3 , 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game this week. He did this on 50% shooting from the field and 43.5% shooting from behind the arc.
Due to the high volume of threes Camara shoots, his overall field goal percentage is brought down, but he shot 63.6% from two point range on just 11 attempts as well.
That’s not to mention his defense. While the offense was a welcome surprise, Camara’s defense has always been, and continued to be, elite. He found himself opposite Norman Powell, Scottie Barnes and Jaylen Brown for stretches this week and held the trio to 53 total points, well below their combined average of 72.2 points combined.
Camara’s play in both sides of the ball makes him an incredibly important part of this Portland team. That only gets more pronounced when players are injured. Although it didn’t lead to an excess of wins this week, Canara’s play was a large reason that the Blazers weren’t blown out in their pair of losses despite very poor shooting.
This week’s honorable mention is Jrue Holiday.
Holiday has slowly been reintegrated into the lineup following his extended absence due to injury. That’s been shown in his minutes as he averaged just 21.3 per game this week. However, he made the most of the time he was on the floor. He averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steals this week on 52.6% from the field and 45% from deep. His play at the point guard spot has been very effective in helping Portland through some tough offensive stretches.
What Blazer impressed you the most this week? Let us know in the comments below!
