6 game report card

A little over a week into the 2012-2013 season and it's time for a report card.

Name: Portland Trail Blazers
Teacher: Stotts
Class: NBA
Record: 2-4
Week 1 (Games 1-6) grade: C-

First, the good news. Damian Lillard. This kid can ball. We've all heard the stat lines of how he and Oscar Robinson are the only two players to start their first 3 NBA games with at least 20 points and 7 assists per game.

The opening night Halloween win over the Lakers was scary good. The OT victory in Houston was an eye brow raiser with a head nod. But then came Dallas, the Clips, Spurs. We had fight at home but just ran out of gas.

The two glaring things I see are the lack of defense (49% OPP FG) and the lack of bench depth. If a Blazer starter has an off night (Nic in OKC, Lillard in Dallas) the bench just can't pick up the slack.

Hit the books, boards, and buckets. If you don't apply yourself, you may not see a record above .500 anytime soon and the Blazer g.p.a. will dip and summer school will be mandatory.