NBA Mid-Season Grades: Celtics standout; Warriors, Lakers receive failing marks

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the main characters of the NBA offseason. With all the attention centered on Damian Lillard, the Blazers were a team that found itself very much in the limelight all summer long. Once the deal was completed, the hope was that Portland would emerge as one of the most intriguing teams this season. That hasn't been the case. In fact, I'd argue that this season has been an utter disaster.

There may be some pushback on this grade. However, when you look at the landscape of the team, there's not much that has gone right for this team this season. Anfernee Simons nor Shaedon Sharpe made the leaps that some expected them to make this season, Deandre Ayton is having the worst season of his career, and Scoot Henderson is not a good player right now.

I'm not saying the future is bleak for the Blazers but the hype surrounding this team heading into the start of the season ended up being a nothing burger. Maybe we were all one year too early on the Blazers. And, quite frankly, it's only right to give them time to develop and fit all the pieces together. At least when it comes to this season, it hasn't been great in Portland.

Grade: F