5 takeaways from Portland Trail Blazers preseason Updated Dec 21, 2020; Posted Dec 21, 2020 Derrick Jones Jr. (left) talks with Robert Covington as the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Denver Nuggets in an NBA preseason game at Ball Arena in Denver, on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Denver won 126-95.Bruce Ely/Portland Trail Blazers Facebook Share The Portland Trail Blazers’ lackluster preseason performance left many observers in one of two camps of thinking: 1. Portland’s 1-3 record while losing games by 15, 31 and 33 points means very little. It was only preseason. 2. It’s time to start perusing 2021 mock drafts. This team is going nowhere. OK, both are exaggerated reactions. However, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The Blazers certainly have not played like a team prepared to make a run at the Western Conference title.