The forecast calls for pain

For the Trail Blazers, it was a weekend that summed up the season so far. They easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and easily lost to the Miami Heat, both games played here. The Blazers can beat the bad teams, but can't get anywhere against the good teams.

Portland doesn't play much defense. Their offense is predictable. The coach seems to have lost their attention. The front office made some moves at the trade deadline that were more about money than they were about winning a title. There doesn't seem to be a lot of chemistry left. Their big guy, Jusuf Nurkic, is always injured, in the tradition of chronically wounded Blazer centers.

The brightest spot of the weekend was a new franchise record set for rebounds in a single game by Enes Kanter, the de facto center. He snagged 30 boards in the game against Detroit.

Other than that, the Blazers seem adrift. They had better hope they don't fall below sixth in the standings and have to win in a play-in tournament to make it to the real playoffs. In any event, I don't expect much of a run for Portland in this year's post-season. "1, 2, 3, Cancún!"

You feel bad for Damian Lillard. The guy is MVP material. He's been determined to win a championship in Portland. But it doesn't seem likely. Last night, it didn't seem possible.