The Tribune

THE 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season was filled with highs and lows for Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers’ window for play-in contention came to a close oddly with their 120-109 win against the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend.

Both the Spurs and Trail Blazers were still in the running for the play-in tournament but were ultimately eliminated due to Sacramento’s 120-113 win over Cleveland.

As for Ayton, he has been shelved for the last 26 games after sustaining a left calf strain against the Denver Nuggets back in February.

Prior to the injury, Ayton was averaging 14.4 points per game (ppg), 10.2 rebounds while shooting 56.6 per cent in his second season with the Trail Blazers.

Despite owning a 35-44 (win/loss record), the Blazers were rolling at some points during the regular season.

The team reeled off a six-game winning streak from January 28 to February 8. 

Portland now has two games remaining before the end of their season and will miss the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. 

It remains unlikely that Ayton will suit up again for the Blazers this season.Ayton along with Eric “EJ” Gordon will be watching the NBA Playoffs from home this year. The Philadelphia 76ers struggled with injuries at the start of the regular season despite being projected as one of the fringe Eastern Contenders thanks to their offseason acquisition of Paul George.

The team never got it going and Gordon has not played in any games since early February.

The Bahamian three-point specialist suited up for 39 games and averaged 6.8 ppg and 1.2 boards while shooting 42.6 per cent from the field and 40.9 per cent from deep.

The Sixers are currently stuck at the 13th spot out East with a 23-56 win/loss record.

As for Bahamian pros Kai Jones and Klay Thompson, the Dallas Mavericks remain in the hunt for a play-in spot despite dropping some games due to crucial injuries.

The Mavericks own the 10th seed with a 38-42 win/loss record in the Western Conference. They are trying to hold off the 35-44 Phoenix Suns, who have been in a downward spiral since Kevin Durant’s ankle injury.

Grand Bahamian sharpshooter Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield is primed to make his second postseason appearance with the Golden State Warriors but their playoff seeding is yet to be decided in the tightly-contested Western Conference.

Golden State sits at the sixth spot but the fourth through seventh seeds all had identical records of 47-32 up to press time. With less than three games remaining on the regular season schedule, it should be interesting to see where ‘Buddy’ and the Warriors land ahead of the 2024-25 NBA Postseason.