Stotts: It all 'unraveled' once Wes Matthews got hurt

By foxsports
Published

For much of the 2014-15 regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the league's best teams by nearly every measure. Under head coach Terry Stotts, Portland found a way to shore up their defense while maintaining an offensive style that led to plenty of success. 

With Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way, the Blazers looked like a real threat to emerge out of the Western Conference.

And then, as Blazers fans are all too familiar with, the injuries started pouring in. Here's what Terry Stotts told Mike Richman of The Oregonian:

"It all kind of unraveled starting with Wes' injury," Stotts said of a team that went 11-15 after the Matthews injury. 

Through March 5, the Blazers were fifth in the league in defensive efficiency, but after losing Matthews, the Blazers defense struggled, dropping to 21st overall in defense efficiency. 

The Blazers' late season swoon carried over into the playoffs where they lost in five games to the Memphis Grizzlies, failing to build on last season's first round playoff series victory while making a quick postseason exit.

"It was very disheartening," Stotts said of the Blazers' finish. "We had a lot of momentum this year. We were one of the top teams in the league for a good part of the season. The regret is that we didn't play our best basketball against Memphis."

(h/t The Oregonian)