The Portland Trail Blazers have cultivated a defensive identity. The hard-nosed negating foundation has given the playing group something to build off while it figures out what it is on the other side of the ball.

Unfortunately, that established defensive persona, which currently ranks 10th most stingy, was dealt blows in consecutive games last week. Matisse Thybulle suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb in the team’s win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday October 29 and is expected to be back at some point in December.

Two days after the Thybulle injury, Blake Wesley suffered a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot during Portland’s win over the Denver Nuggets and could miss up to 12 weeks following surgery.

While the pair are far from the roster’s two most important

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