3 takeaways from Portland Trail Blazers’ first 10 games

1. Where are the assists?

Despite the Blazers’ offensive efficiency, the team still seems to struggle with moving the ball consistently. After finishing last in assists per game in 2017-18, Portland is currently 28th in the league in that category and 51.8 percent of their made field goals have been unassisted, the highest percentage in the league.

These numbers are a result of Portland’s playmakers continuing to take matters into their own hands more often than not. For instance, 75.6 percent of Evan Turner‘s field goals, 74.2 percent of Damian Lillard’s and 65.7 percent of CJ McCollum‘s are unassisted. Those same three players are also the team leaders in assists per game, with Lillard averaging 5.7, Turner averaging 4.1 and McCollum averaging 2.3.

It’s great that Portland has three rotation players that can go and get their own shot. However, they will have to make sure over the course of the year that this doesn’t bog down the offense.

Luckily for Portland, if that happens this year, they are in better position to adjust. Six players are currently shooting above league-average (35.3 percent) from 3-point range. Four of those six are shooting above 40 percent.

As the year continues, the key for the Portland Trail Blazers will be working together as a team, stepping up when called upon and keeping opponents on their toes. If they can uphold that game plan, this hot start will become the norm, and they will continue to be one of the best teams in the NBA.