Season Predictions 2016
Current seeding: 6th
Projected seeding: 7th
If you wanna talk about the best backcourt duos, you gotta talk about Curry and Thompson of Golden State, Lowry and DeRozan of Toronto, and… Lillard and McCollum of Portland?! PG Damian Lillard we already knew was a superstar, and is merely meeting his crazy-high expectations with per-game averages of 25.7 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.1 threes. But McCollum put up all of 6.8 points per game last season, whereas this season he’s averaging 20.7 points and 2.4 threes and is a frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award. Riding the strength of their star backcourt duo, the Blazers are now firmly entrenched in the playoffs. This was a team, need I remind you, that many (yes, including yours truly) predicted to be a West bottom-feeder after losing four-fifths (⅘) of their starting five -- all except Lillard -- this summer. Beyond Lillard and McCollum, the team features many good-but-not-great players, mainly prospects, to complete a very deep bench: SF Al Farouq-Aminu, PF/C Ed Davis, and PF/C Mason Plumlee, round out Portland’s starting five.
First round: San Antonio Spurs (2)
Talk about old school vs. new school. Whereas the Spurs have an average age of 31.6 -- with PF/C Tim Duncan having been to the playoffs every single season of his 19-year career, including five championships -- this will be the first April basketball that many Portland youngsters have ever played. The only way that the Trail Blazers can even put up a fight is if Lillard and McCollum keep bombing away from downtown, but San Antonio ranks second in three-point defense, limiting their opponents to a mere 32.8% from beyond the arc. This can immediately pose issues for a Portland team that is heavily reliant on the three-ball, as they rank fifth in downtown attempts per game. Defensively, the Blazers do have solid defenders like Aminu and Plumlee that could pose some issues for San Antonio’s imposing frontline of SF Kawhi Leonard, PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge, and Duncan, but it’s hard to imagine a headline reading “Portland upsets San Antonio behind Al Farouq-Aminu shutting down Leonard and Aldridge.” Portland is a very young team and already talented, so they’ll be back next year, and the Spurs are the Spurs, so they’ll definitely be back next year (and every successive year for eternity) too.
Prediction: San Antonio wins, 4-1
Current seeding: 6th
Projected seeding: 7th
If you wanna talk about the best backcourt duos, you gotta talk about Curry and Thompson of Golden State, Lowry and DeRozan of Toronto, and… Lillard and McCollum of Portland?! PG Damian Lillard we already knew was a superstar, and is merely meeting his crazy-high expectations with per-game averages of 25.7 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.1 threes. But McCollum put up all of 6.8 points per game last season, whereas this season he’s averaging 20.7 points and 2.4 threes and is a frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award. Riding the strength of their star backcourt duo, the Blazers are now firmly entrenched in the playoffs. This was a team, need I remind you, that many (yes, including yours truly) predicted to be a West bottom-feeder after losing four-fifths (⅘) of their starting five -- all except Lillard -- this summer. Beyond Lillard and McCollum, the team features many good-but-not-great players, mainly prospects, to complete a very deep bench: SF Al Farouq-Aminu, PF/C Ed Davis, and PF/C Mason Plumlee, round out Portland’s starting five.
First round: San Antonio Spurs (2)
Talk about old school vs. new school. Whereas the Spurs have an average age of 31.6 -- with PF/C Tim Duncan having been to the playoffs every single season of his 19-year career, including five championships -- this will be the first April basketball that many Portland youngsters have ever played. The only way that the Trail Blazers can even put up a fight is if Lillard and McCollum keep bombing away from downtown, but San Antonio ranks second in three-point defense, limiting their opponents to a mere 32.8% from beyond the arc. This can immediately pose issues for a Portland team that is heavily reliant on the three-ball, as they rank fifth in downtown attempts per game. Defensively, the Blazers do have solid defenders like Aminu and Plumlee that could pose some issues for San Antonio’s imposing frontline of SF Kawhi Leonard, PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge, and Duncan, but it’s hard to imagine a headline reading “Portland upsets San Antonio behind Al Farouq-Aminu shutting down Leonard and Aldridge.” Portland is a very young team and already talented, so they’ll be back next year, and the Spurs are the Spurs, so they’ll definitely be back next year (and every successive year for eternity) too.
Prediction: San Antonio wins, 4-1