2019–20 Portland Trail Blazers season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2019–20 Portland Trail Blazers season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Trail Blazers entered the season following a playoff defeat from the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
| 2019–20 Portland Trail Blazers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Terry Stotts |
| General manager | Neil Olshey |
| Owners | Estate of Paul Allen |
| Arena | Moda Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 35–39 (.473) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Northwest) Conference: 8th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | First round (lost to Lakers 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | NBC Sports Northwest |
| Radio | KPOJ, Portland Trail Blazers Radio |
The season was suspended by the league officials following the games of March 11[1] after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[2]
On June 4, the Trail Blazers were one of 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble.
On August 15, the Trail Blazers clinched the 8th seed after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in game. With the Blazers clinching a playoff berth, this was the 3rd consecutive season where 4 of 5 teams in the Northwest Division clinched the playoffs.
Despite their first losing season since the 2012–13 season, the Trail Blazers were tied at 7 seasons with the defending champion Toronto Raptors with the 2nd most active playoff streak behind the Houston Rockets.
The Trail Blazers faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, marking the first meeting between the two teams in the playoffs since 2002. Despite a strong Game 1 victory, Damian Lillard was forced to leave the bubble after suffering a right knee injury in Game 4, and the Trail Blazers lost the series in 5 games. Like in 2002, the Lakers went on to win the championship.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Nassir Little | SF |  United States |
North Carolina |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Denver Nuggets | 46 | 27 | .630 | – | 26–11 | 20–16 | 12–2 | 73 |
| x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 44 | 28 | .611 | 1.5 | 23–14 | 21–14 | 8–5 | 72 |
| x – Utah Jazz | 44 | 28 | .611 | 1.5 | 23–12 | 21–16 | 5–7 | 72 |
| x – Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 39 | .473 | 11.5 | 21–15 | 14–24 | 5–8 | 74 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 19 | 45 | .297 | 22.5 | 8–24 | 11–21 | 2–10 | 64 |
Conference
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Los Angeles Lakers * | 52 | 19 | .732 | – | 71 |
| 2 | x – Los Angeles Clippers | 49 | 23 | .681 | 3.5 | 72 |
| 3 | y – Denver Nuggets * | 46 | 27 | .630 | 7.0 | 73 |
| 4 | y – Houston Rockets * | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 5 | x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 6 | x – Utah Jazz | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 7 | x – Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 32 | .573 | 11.0 | 75 |
| 8 | x – Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 39 | .473 | 18.5 | 74 |
| 9 | pi – Memphis Grizzlies | 34 | 39 | .466 | 19.0 | 73 |
| 10 | Phoenix Suns | 34 | 39 | .466 | 19.0 | 73 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | 32 | 39 | .451 | 20.0 | 71 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.5 | 72 |
| 13 | New Orleans Pelicans | 30 | 42 | .417 | 22.5 | 72 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 19 | 45 | .297 | 29.5 | 64 |
| 15 | Golden State Warriors | 15 | 50 | .231 | 34.0 | 65 |
Game log
Preseason
The preseason schedule was announced on July 29, 2019.[3]
| 2019 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (home: 1–2; road: 1–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–3 (home: 1–2; road: 1–1)
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| 2019–20 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
On January 31, 2020, the Trail Blazers played on the road at the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 127–119, behind a 48-point, 10-assist outing from Damian Lillard, in a game aired nationally on ESPN.[4] This was the Lakers’ first game in the aftermath of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash five days earlier, which in total took the lives of nine people, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna.[5][6][7] The Lakers were to play against the Los Angeles Clippers two days after the accident, however that game was postponed out of respect for Bryant and also due to the Lakers not feeling ready to showcase a game in light of the tragedy.[8] Prior to tipoff, the Lakers conducted a 24-minute long, heavily detailed tribute to Bryant, his daughter and the seven other victims.[9] This game turned out to be the second most watched NBA broadcast ever in ESPN's history, averaging 4.41 million viewers, with the first ever head-to-head meeting between Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming in 2003 being the only one with higher viewership.[10][11]
Play-in
| 2020 play-in game log | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in Game: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0)
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Playoffs
| 2020 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First round: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2)
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| 2020 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJ McCollum | 70 | 70 | 36.5 | .451 | .379 | .757 | 4.2 | 4.4 | .8 | .6 | 22.2 |
| Anfernee Simons | 70 | 4 | 20.7 | .399 | .332 | .826 | 2.2 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | 8.3 |
| Hassan Whiteside | 67 | 61 | 30.0 | .621 | .571 | .686 | 13.5 | 1.2 | .4 | 2.9 | 15.5 |
| Damian Lillard | 66 | 66 | 37.5 | .463 | .401 | .888 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 1.1 | .3 | 30.0 |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 61 | 8 | 21.8 | .444 | .418 | .822 | 1.6 | 1.0 | .8 | .3 | 8.9 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 58 | 58 | 32.8 | .430 | .385 | .845 | 6.3 | 1.5 | .8 | .5 | 15.4 |
| Mario Hezonja | 53 | 4 | 16.4 | .422 | .308 | .814 | 3.5 | .9 | .7 | .2 | 4.8 |
| Nassir Little | 48 | 5 | 11.9 | .430 | .237 | .636 | 2.3 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 3.6 |
| Kent Bazemore† | 43 | 21 | 25.8 | .347 | .327 | .806 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .7 | 7.9 |
| Anthony Tolliver† | 33 | 9 | 16.8 | .368 | .337 | .684 | 3.3 | .9 | .2 | .3 | 3.9 |
| Skal Labissière | 33 | 1 | 17.2 | .551 | .231 | .758 | 5.1 | 1.3 | .2 | .9 | 5.8 |
| Trevor Ariza† | 21 | 21 | 33.4 | .491 | .400 | .872 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.6 | .4 | 11.0 |
| Rodney Hood | 21 | 21 | 29.5 | .506 | .493 | .778 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .8 | .2 | 11.0 |
| Caleb Swanigan† | 20 | 1 | 13.3 | .605 | .000 | .533 | 4.7 | 1.5 | .1 | .3 | 3.0 |
| Wenyen Gabriel† | 19 | 1 | 9.2 | .484 | .417 | .750 | 2.2 | .3 | .4 | .3 | 2.3 |
| Jaylen Hoard | 13 | 0 | 7.9 | .469 | .000 | .615 | 2.5 | .3 | .4 | .0 | 2.9 |
| Zach Collins | 11 | 11 | 26.4 | .471 | .368 | .750 | 6.3 | 1.5 | .5 | .5 | 7.0 |
| Moses Brown | 9 | 0 | 3.7 | .400 | .375 | 1.6 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.2 | |
| Jusuf Nurkić | 8 | 8 | 31.6 | .495 | .200 | .886 | 10.3 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 17.6 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJ McCollum | 5 | 5 | 39.2 | .444 | .371 | .682 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .4 | 23.2 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 5 | 5 | 35.2 | .412 | .421 | .857 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .4 | 15.2 |
| Jusuf Nurkić | 5 | 5 | 32.2 | .439 | .273 | .783 | 10.4 | 3.6 | 1.4 | .2 | 14.2 |
| Hassan Whiteside | 5 | 3 | 21.2 | .542 | 1.000 | .500 | 7.0 | .4 | .2 | 2.0 | 6.8 |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 5 | 1 | 30.6 | .356 | .417 | .857 | 2.0 | .6 | .8 | .0 | 9.6 |
| Mario Hezonja | 5 | 0 | 13.6 | .409 | .286 | .750 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .6 | .0 | 4.6 |
| Damian Lillard | 4 | 4 | 35.8 | .406 | .394 | .970 | 3.5 | 4.3 | .5 | .3 | 24.3 |
| Wenyen Gabriel | 4 | 2 | 13.3 | .600 | .400 | .500 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .5 | .5 | 5.3 |
| Anfernee Simons | 4 | 0 | 20.5 | .308 | .429 | .833 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.5 | .0 | 6.8 |
| Jaylen Hoard | 3 | 0 | 13.7 | .583 | 3.0 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 4.7 | ||
| Jaylen Adams | 3 | 0 | 7.0 | .333 | .000 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | .0 | 2.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Trail Blazers only.
Transactions
Trades
| June 24, 2019[12] | To Portland Trail Blazers Kent Bazemore |
To Atlanta Hawks Evan Turner |
| July 6, 2019[13] | To Portland Trail Blazers Hassan Whiteside |
To Miami Heat Meyers Leonard Moe Harkless |
| January 21, 2020[14] | To Portland Trail Blazers Trevor Ariza Wenyen Gabriel Caleb Swanigan |
To Sacramento Kings Kent Bazemore Anthony Tolliver 2024 second-round pick 2025 second-round pick |
| February 7, 2020[15] | To Portland Trail Blazers 2024 second-round pick |
To Atlanta Hawks Skal Labissière Cash consideration |
Free agency
Re-signed
| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Rodney Hood[16] | July 6, 2019 |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Hoard[17] | July 2, 2019 | Wake Forest |
| Mario Hezonja[18] | July 3, 2019 | New York Knicks |
| Anthony Tolliver[19] | July 3, 2019 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Pau Gasol[20] | July 25, 2019 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Moses Brown[21] | October 19, 2019 | UCLA |
| Carmelo Anthony[22] | November 19, 2019 | Houston Rockets |
Subtractions
| Player | Reason left | New team |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Farouq Aminu[23] | Orlando Magic | |
| Jake Layman[24] | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Seth Curry[25] | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Enes Kanter[26] | Boston Celtics | |
| Pau Gasol[27] | Waived |