Don't Sleep On Portland Trail Blazers As West Contenders
The Portland Trail Blazers deserve much more credit for what’s been put together and how far the team can go this upcoming season.
Where are the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA playoff picture?
Right now the team’s valued as a true contender out west. Currently listed as the 10th-likeliest team to win the 2017 title by Vegas, the Trail Blazers are also projected by ESPN as the fourth-best team in the Western Conference.
FiveThirtyEight also has its projections out with Portland as the eighth-best team in the league.
But are all of these projections low-balling the team just a tad?
Point guard Damian Lillard wants to go farther than most are projecting.
“This year I want to get to the Western Conference Finals and give ourselves a chance to get to the [NBA] Finals,” Lillard said to ESPN’s J.A. Adande. “I think it’s possible.”
Many analysts, including ESPN’s Zach Lowe, are putting the Utah Jazz on a pedestal. Meanwhile others refuse to back off Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Do those teams, along with up-and-comers like the Minnesota Timberwolves, deserve the hype? Maybe, maybe not.
Portland, however, has continuity, leadership and explosiveness on both ends of the floor that other units don’t.
Lillard and C.J. McCollum are arguably the second-best backcourt in the NBA. They are both dynamic scorers from all levels of the floor and can handle the ball and quarterback an offense.
Versatility is key in the modern game. Both Lillard and McCollum have varying skill sets that put them above other young duos.
They averaged a combined 45.9 points per game last year, so there’s no question they can score at a unique rate.
What makes them elite though is their efficiency from 3-point range. Together they converted at a 39.6 percent rate from deep on 14 attempts per game. Those are serious numbers that give many teams cause to pause when game planning around those two.
But they aren’t the only dangerous young talents on the Trail Blazers. Mason Plumlee is a rising stud at the center position (9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 25 minutes per game last year), and Al-Farouq Aminu finally extended his range out beyond the 3-point line.
If Aminu can continue to hit threes (40 percent on 6.4 attempts per game in last year’s postseason) and Plumlee comes up big on the boards, then suddenly this team has a legit identity.
Portland wants to play fast and gun up deep shots. They’re young, athletic and deep at almost every position.
The biggest question this season revolves around new acquisition Evan Turner. Can he be the Trail Blazers’ backup point guard like he was with the Boston Celtics?
Other concerns stem from all the money Portland handed out this offseason. Maurice Harkless, Allen Crabbe and Festus Ezeli all earned sizable contracts and extensions.
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Can these potentially overvalued pieces contribute at a high level along with Turner? Or will one or a few have to be dealt before the trade deadline to find more complementary parts?
These unknowns don’t outweigh all the positives surrounding the squad.
Head coach Terry Stotts has proven he’s a leader of men. Lillard and McCollum are an explosive one-two punch. And the starting lineup for Portland has the modern-day versatility and two-way potential necessary to contend.
Bring all that together with the fact that it’s mostly the same group as last year, and you have yourself a ready-made threat for a top seed in the West.
Don’t look now, but Portland could end up in the Western Conference Finals this year.
That’s as long as Lillard gets his way, of course.