Portland Trail Blazers: Analyzing Their 5 Biggest Problems so Far

The Portland Trail Blazers have been a very frustrating team to follow during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.

At times they have appeared brilliant, with LaMarcus Aldridge playing like the best power forward in the game. They've also had plenty of moments where they look absolutely lost on offense, relying solely on contested jump shots and little ball movement. 

Their problems don't appear to be fatal, and are potentially fixable, but you can't fix them without identifying them first. Here's what I consider to be the five biggest flaws of the team so far.

Three-Point Shooting

As a jump-shooting team, the Blazers need to convert a decent percentage from downtown. However, they are currently hitting just over 30 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, which is not good enough.

The culprits are many. Raymond Felton, brought in to be a shooting upgrade at the point, is currently making fewer than 20 percent of his threes, a big problem for someone who still shoots nearly 3.5 per game. 

Wesley Matthews, the team's biggest threat from deep last year, has tailed off pretty dramatically this season, and Gerald Wallace is struggling as well, only connecting on 25 percent of his threes.

In addition, the only one who has been doing well, Nicolas Batum, just went down with a knee injury and could miss a few games.

Guard Play

Going along with the previous slide, the Blazers' guard play, which was supposed to be an area of depth and strength for them, has turned into one of their biggest problems. Their backcourt, as currently constructed, doesn't seem to be championship caliber.

Raymond Felton looks a step slower, unable to get the Blazers easy buckets on offense, and is averaging a career low 10.3 points per game. Wesley Matthews is also struggling with his shot, as is Jamal Crawford, who hasn't shot this poorly in several seasons.

It's hard to say how much of their struggles can be attributed to the compacted schedule this season, but if things don't turn around soon, a trade of some kind might be in order. Steve Nash and Kyle Lowry are two players who, while not necessarily available right now, should probably be inquired about.

Gerald Wallace's Disappearing Act

As much as the Blazers have struggled on the road this season, no one has been more abysmal than Gerald Wallace. For a guy who often looks like a legitimate second option and borderline All-Star at home, he has yet to have a big impact in any road games this season.

In the one big road win for the Blazers at Oklahoma City, he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards, but that's about as good as it has been for him this season.

Six times he has been held in single digits in scoring on the road, including a scoreless outing against the Clippers. The Blazers need his energy, his defense and his fearless play to gut out those tough, close games on the road, but so far he hasn't been bringing it.

Blazers fans love this guy because he brings a toughness and attitude that can be essential to a team winning an NBA title. But it needs to be constant both at home and on the road, especially since the Blazers can't likely count on having the best record in the league come playoff time.

Inability to Win Close Games

The Blazers currently lead the NBA in fourth quarter scoring, averaging 25.7 points per game. Pretty good, right?

Another statistic that isn't so good: they are 1-6 in games decided by five points or fewer. 

What does it mean?

The Blazers haven't been good at putting together complete games this season. The other night at Utah, they held a lead for almost the entire game, then feel behind in the fourth quarter. The Blazers couldn't make plays, and even though they outplayed the Jazz for at least three quarters, they lost a very winnable game.

So far, they haven't been able to rely on either their offense or their defense in late game situations. Hopefully that changes going forward.

Poor Road Performances

Off all the issues that have plagued this Blazers squad so far, their split personality performances probably have to be at the top of the list. It's normal to be better at home in the NBA, but not quite like this. As of Wednesday afternoon, they were sitting at 9-1 at home, and 3-8 on the road. 

The Blazers' home record is good for second best in the Western Conference; with even a respectable record of .500 on the road, they would be a top three playoff seed right now. As it stands, they wouldn't even make the playoffs if it started today.

This team has shown that it has what it takes to beat the elite teams of the NBA, but lacks the consistency on the road that is needed to be considered an elite team itself. Now is the time to make the necessary changes for that to take place.