A time machine is in order. After going through a multitude of injuries, particularly to the frontline, the Portland Trail Blazers were already sparse. The only thing that made it passable was the fact that LaMarcus Aldridge was still in the lineup and playing at a high level. Even then, it was still shaky and did not inspire a lot of confidence in the fans or analysts.

Now, the Trail Blazers will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to get through this most recent development. In the Sacramento game, Aldridge wacked his thumb on the right knee of DeMarcus Cousins. Aldridge was forced to come out of the game due to his left thumb being in pain. He could barely hold a basketball let alone shoot one.

After the initial MRIs came back inconclusive due to the amount of swelling in his left thumb, they did another one and the news is not good. Aldridge will need surgery as he suffered a ligament tear in his left thumb forcing him to be out for 6-8 weeks. That puts him back in March. This news would be crushing even if the Blazers were at full strength. Now, it seems like just another injury to add to the pile and it leaves questions as to whether the Blazers can hold on or fall down the Western Conference standings.

When Robin Lopez initially got hurt, it was just a matter of holding down the fort. As more and more players got injured (Joel Freeland, Nicolas Batum), it became more about just surviving and not letting the punch have an effect long-term. With LA gone, it is matter of Portland not falling too far to make it too difficult for them climb back up the Western Conference seeds once everyone gets back and is healthy. I am not questioning this team’s talent at all. In fact, at full strength, this team was a borderline contender. The issue is that they now have lost so much firepower and important aspects both offensively and defensively that the Blazers now have to deal with the only healthy members of the starting lineup in Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews playing a lot more minutes and getting a lot more attention than they already were.

As if the LA injury was not enough, Batum seemed to have re-aggrevated his right wrist once again and was forced to leave the game. In the post-game interview, he said that the pain normally lasts for two-to-three minutes, but this time around, it did not go away and he was in a lot of pain. He was not sure as to how much time he might potentially miss, but any game at this point seems to be more and more crushing for Portland. The only seven-footers on this team are Chris Kaman and Meyers Leonard. Plus, Dorell Wright is going to get more time at the four and if Batum has to miss any kind of action, then that spawns further questions.

Whatever the case is, Portland is in a hole and help is not even close to coming back. Lopez is expected to be back at the most after the all-star break. Freeland’s shoulder is still hurting and it could be a few weeks before he sees any game action. Tough and challenging days for the Blazers are coming.

Now, there was a game that happened. However, Portland, dealing with all those injuries, could not pull themselves away from the Boston Celtics late in the game and ultimately, after a freak scramble play that resulted in an Evan Turner corner-three for the game, the Blazers are at their low point this season. The Boston Celtics stole a victory against the Trail Blazers by a score of 90-89. The Blazers fall to 31-13 on the season, 19-5 at home, while the Celtics improve to 14-26, 5-13 on the road.

All the statistics spell out one of the worst days if not the worst day the Blazers have had this season. Not only does the news that LA is going to be out for a significant amount of time reach their ears, but Batum seems to have injured that wrist again and the Blazers lose at home against a Celtics team that was 2-6 in their last eight games coming into this one. It is hard to lose a game due to a freak play of sorts, but it capitalized on a day the Blazers would like to forget quickly.

Regardless of Boston’s record, the Celtics have played hard basketball and have always been in games. In both matchups, Boston stuck around and made it challenging for Portland to put the game away. This time around, defensively, Portland did okay in stretches, but the Celtics made one extra play.

This was an ugly game filled with turnovers, botched possessions, Avery Bradley making mid-range shots and a multitude of other things that made a fan think that this game should have been a breeze if Portland were even close to being healthy.

In all the statistics that I have pointed to in the past couple of posts, the Blazers actually hung in there. The Blazers essentially tied the Celtics in points in the paint scoring 28 to Boston’s 30. Second chance points were even 13-12 and Portland had more fast break points than Boston. Boston only out-rebounded Portland by two (47-45) and Portland scored more points off of Boston turnovers (17) than Boston did off of Portland’s (11).

Those statistics seem great until a fan starts thinking about the Celtic team. They do not really have a big man, besides Kelly Olynyk who is not physical player, at least at this moment. Tyler Zeller is there, but he is still figuring out his role and talent. So, Portland and Boston were basically even in the frontcourt department and were able to stay even for the most part.

It is no surprise that Lillard and Matthews are going to take the majority of the shots now with LA gone. They combined to go 14-for-38, 6-for-13 from three with 39 points. Batum, after having a slump-ending game against Phoenix, went 0-for-6 from the field and recorded just four assists and three rebounds. Again, he only played 21 minutes, but Batum looked to be forcing it slightly and even took a three-pointer that had Dame range on it.

Thomas Robinson had a nice outing finishing with nine points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Robinson was all over the court and it was expected. Not only is he an energetic player, but the fact that Celtics did not have a lot of size helped Robinson stay on the glass and stay out of foul trouble. Kaman finished with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting with nine rebounds. Having to previously adjust to being a role player, Kaman has been thrust into his old job. He has been handling it solidly, but it does not feel right and he can only play close to the 30 minutes a game.

Portland could just never pry themselves away from the Celtics. There were 12 lead changes and nine times the game was tied. Portland had their best chance in the fourth quarter. Portland was able to grab a six-point lead with 4:43 remaining. The Celtics missed a couple of shots, but Portland kept answering and seemed to be pulling away. After a Lillard make from three-point land, Portland did not score again for three and a half minutes. A lot of three-pointers were attempted, three of them to be exact in that span. But, the game was tied and all Portland had to do was make free throws, however, both Matthews and Robinson split a pair at the FT line, which gave the Celtics a shot. Remember, no threes. After a missed three-pointer by Jared Sullinger, the Blazers were unable to secure the rebound, leaving Boston with the opportunity to end the game. After an attempted steal, a scramble ensued leaving the defense all out of sorts, except for Turner. Evan Turner found a way to get to the right corner and Sullinger found him. Matthews, standing out near the top of the key was late getting to Turner and it swished leaving Blazer fans shocked.

Portland had exactly one second to get a shot off, but Portland just swarmed Lillard and Matthews and the Blazers were unable to make anything happen.

Portland killed themselves in the fourth quarter. They shot a horrible 17% from the field and 11% from three-point land. The Celtics were able to grab seven second chance points and twelve points in the paint compared to Portland’s two. Another stat that is glaring, Portland had zero assists in the fourth quarter. That is definitely not like this team. Matthews and Lillard combined to go 3-for-9 in the quarter, 1-for-5 from three with just nine points. A couple of ill-advised threes and maybe a lack of ball movement caused Portland to be in that position at the end of the game. Furthermore, Robinson is going to split a pair at the line at best, but Matthews missing one was unusual. Regardless, it was not necessarily the injuries that hurt Portland, it was the way they played the fourth quarter.

Fans might want to get used to this random and frantic style of play from the Blazers. A lot of young guys will be getting time, which is a good thing, but also can spawn some interesting situations. Portland has to hold out for the first player, Lopez, to get back. He says he is feeling good and itching to get back. He would make a huge improvement for Portland and is an underrated offensive player. It would help a lot, but for now, Portland has to figure out how to win these games.

Next up, a good Washington Wizards team comes to town tomorrow at the Moda Center. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. PST. Nene and Marcin Gortat are healthy and will play leaving Portland to wonder how the heck they will defend that. Not to mention one of the best backcourts in the NBA in Bradley Beal and John Wall. A lot of problems for Portland to solve and a lot of problems that might not be able to be solved, it will be a tough one. Stay tuned!