3 reasons for the Portland Trail Blazers’ current struggles

2. Cold 3-point shooting

3-point shooting is a crucial part of the Trail Blazers’ offense this season. Last year, they shot well from outside (36.6 percent), but didn’t utilize the 3-ball enough (28.1 attempts per game, 19th). This year, with the arrivals of Curry and Stauskas, Portland has taken to the skies much more often. They currently average the 32.4 attempts per game, 12th-most in the NBA.

The shots were falling for the first 13 games of the season, with their 36.5 3-point percentage ranking 10th in the league. However, the nights have gotten colder. Portland has shot 32.5 percent from beyond over the last seven games, the seventh-worst percentage in the league over that span.

Oddly enough, bad shot selection isn’t even the reason behind this cold streak. A lot of the shots the Blazers are seeking were the same ones that connected in the first 13 games. It’s simply a matter of good shots not falling. When that is the culprit, the only solution is to keep finding shooters in rhythm until they can get hot again.