My projections, based on xRAPM, have them at 41-42 wins. Their biggest upgrade is Robin Lopez over Hickson. He alone will improve Blazers by about 5 games. Blazers had a good start last season, something like 20-15 at one time. They had absolutely the worst bench in the league last season. Don't let that 33-win season fool you. Their starting five are solid, with Mathew being the weakest link. They lost the last 16 games, most of them tanking. I have them at 8th, competing with Denver for the last spot. That really isn't a good news to pro-LMA Rockets fans. It also means LMA will not be available by trade deadline if Blazers are in the hunt. If the rumor was true (Neil asked for Noah), LMA wanted to be a Bull. If he wants to have the best chance to win, it's Houston. Rockets will be one of the favorites for title with LMA as second option. Our offense will become seamless with Harden at perimeter, LMA at mid-range and Dwight down low. Of course any major trade involving LMA hinges on how well Dwight and Asik perform together. I just hope most of you will exercise extreme patient for Dwight and Asik duo to work and hope Morey will too!
45 games seems reasonable. Hickson was a complete disaster defensively last year. The Robin Lopez + Aldridge frontcourt is kind of slow but at least it has good size to protect the rim. Lillard should be better defensively in his 2nd year (it's really hard to be a rookie, play that many minutes and be any good defensively). I always have rooted for the Blazers to succeed. Seems like a likable team and an intense fanbase.
Obviously nobody can predict injuries or anything, but I still feel this team is better than their team last year. With that being said, I see the playoff teams going as follows: OKC SAS LAC HOU GSW MEM DEN POR followed by: Dallas New Orleans PHX LAL Utah Sac I think Dallas, New Orleans, Portland, and Denver will all be in a battle for the last two spots. Maybe Dallas beats out Portland though.
Batum is a very good player, time will tell if he can make the leap to 'Excellent' player in the coming seasons. After signing his big contract & the infamous Olympic Nut Punch, his play slipped somewhat last year. His per 36 stats saw a big dip in his scoring...but overall his defence was very solid and his assist numbers quadrupled! Excellent, potentially, but not yet. Very good, yes. Good enough to take Portland to the playoffs? No. In my opinion.
Portland fighting for the 8th seed at best; more likely they miss. Oklahoma City San Antonio LA Clippers Memphis Golden State Houston Dallas ----- Denver, LA Lakers, New Orleans, Minnesota and I guess Portland fighting for that last spot.
they have a legitimate mini big 3 in Aldridge, Batum and Lillard their top 3 guys are comparable to ours i just dont like their bench as much
2012-13 Lillard: Maynor: Ronnie Price: Nolan Smith Matthews: Barton: Pavlovich Batum:Claver LMA: Babbitt: Freeland: Jared Jeffries Hickson: Leonard 2013-14 Lillard: Williams Matthews: McCollum Batum: D Wright LMA: T Rob Lopez : Leonard I think they upgraded at every position from last year (starters and back ups)
That be a nice setup. We can easily beat GSW, and we'd avoid the Spurs until the WCF. I think OKC is the most vulnerable out of the top 3 teams, although Perkins seems to give Howard a bit of trouble.
If Asik were enough, we'd already have LMA. Including Parsons would probably get it done, but Asik and Parsons is too much. It's a safe bet that Morey has already offered Asik plus other assets not named Parsons, Howard, and Harden, but the Blazers didn't bite. They aren't interested in helping us become a dynasty. They want a nice young star, so Morey has to wait and hope that LMA pressures Portland into trading him. Maybe by then, some of our other assets will have blossomed.
i think Blazers gonna want at least asik AND parsons and a couple of throw in's and 1st rounders. but then, why'd they want parsons when they got batum already... ?
If we play OKC, Scotty Brooks will be obliged to play Perkins a ton which is ALWAYS good for whoever the Thunder are playing.
