Season Predictions
Regular Season: The Blazers have had a very talented starting five for awhile now, built upon superstars PG Damian Lillard and PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge, wingmen SG/SF Wesley Matthews SF/SG Nicolas Batum, and anchored by C Robin Lopez. Their bench has long been an issue, but has been addressed for the most part, especially through the recent acquisition fof SG/SF Arron Afflalo from Denver. This is a team with title aspirations and just symbolizes how ridiculously difficult the West really is.
Projected Record: 53-29
Playoffs Round One
Portland Trail Blazers (#4) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (#5)
This is really a matchup of superstars: Lillard vs. Chris Paul at PG and Aldridge vs. Blake Griffin at PF. As Afflalo and Clippers’ sixth man SG Jamal Crawford pretty much cancel out, as does the rest of their respective benches, and the Blazers’ advantage on the wing slightly outweighs C Deandre Jordan’s advantage over Lopez, Portland pretty much already has an edge before you take into account the superstars. Once you do, you realize that Aldridge is a scoring machine with more range and better rebounding ability than Griffin, as well as being a better defender, though he only has relatively minor edges in these departments while Griffin is a better passer. Lillard is as good a defender as Paul and although not as good a distributor, Lillard is an elite scorer who can light it up from deep in a way that Paul only dreams of. It’ll really come down to the superstars in this matchup as both teams have been there and done that as well as having team chemistry, and I have to give the edge to Portland.
Series Prediction: Portland wins 4-3
Playoffs Round Two
Portland Trail Blazers (#4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (#8)
I have the Thunder “upsetting” the top-seeded Warriors, but it’s not as if the Blazers are catching a break. Batum will have his hands full trying to slow down superstar SF/PF Kevin Durant, as will Lillard against superstar PG/SG Russell Westbrook in what is sure to be an intriguing matchup in the backcourt. Lillard and Batum are excellent defenders, but they can only do so much trying to slow possibly two of the top five players in the league. In addition, Thunder big man PF/C Serge Ibaka will have a similar problem against Aldridge, though he’s an extremely talented defender as well and should be able to contain him somewhat. Oklahoma City, however, has a more talented bench than the Trail Blazers, featuring a second unit of PG D.J Augustin, SG Dion Waiters, SF Kyle Singler, C/PF Enes Kanter, and C Steven Adams, and that’s all without mentioning some other key players. Behind Afflalo, Portland's bench is kind of lacking, and their superstars, unlike against the Clippers, just aren’t as good as their opponent’s superstars, and Ibaka is every bit a star as each of Matthews and Afflalo. Once again, lack of a quality bench is the Blazers’ downfall, though they should address this need in the offseason and be back to go even further next year.
Series Prediction: Oklahoma City wins 4-2
Regular Season: The Blazers have had a very talented starting five for awhile now, built upon superstars PG Damian Lillard and PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge, wingmen SG/SF Wesley Matthews SF/SG Nicolas Batum, and anchored by C Robin Lopez. Their bench has long been an issue, but has been addressed for the most part, especially through the recent acquisition fof SG/SF Arron Afflalo from Denver. This is a team with title aspirations and just symbolizes how ridiculously difficult the West really is.
Projected Record: 53-29
Playoffs Round One
Portland Trail Blazers (#4) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (#5)
This is really a matchup of superstars: Lillard vs. Chris Paul at PG and Aldridge vs. Blake Griffin at PF. As Afflalo and Clippers’ sixth man SG Jamal Crawford pretty much cancel out, as does the rest of their respective benches, and the Blazers’ advantage on the wing slightly outweighs C Deandre Jordan’s advantage over Lopez, Portland pretty much already has an edge before you take into account the superstars. Once you do, you realize that Aldridge is a scoring machine with more range and better rebounding ability than Griffin, as well as being a better defender, though he only has relatively minor edges in these departments while Griffin is a better passer. Lillard is as good a defender as Paul and although not as good a distributor, Lillard is an elite scorer who can light it up from deep in a way that Paul only dreams of. It’ll really come down to the superstars in this matchup as both teams have been there and done that as well as having team chemistry, and I have to give the edge to Portland.
Series Prediction: Portland wins 4-3
Playoffs Round Two
Portland Trail Blazers (#4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (#8)
I have the Thunder “upsetting” the top-seeded Warriors, but it’s not as if the Blazers are catching a break. Batum will have his hands full trying to slow down superstar SF/PF Kevin Durant, as will Lillard against superstar PG/SG Russell Westbrook in what is sure to be an intriguing matchup in the backcourt. Lillard and Batum are excellent defenders, but they can only do so much trying to slow possibly two of the top five players in the league. In addition, Thunder big man PF/C Serge Ibaka will have a similar problem against Aldridge, though he’s an extremely talented defender as well and should be able to contain him somewhat. Oklahoma City, however, has a more talented bench than the Trail Blazers, featuring a second unit of PG D.J Augustin, SG Dion Waiters, SF Kyle Singler, C/PF Enes Kanter, and C Steven Adams, and that’s all without mentioning some other key players. Behind Afflalo, Portland's bench is kind of lacking, and their superstars, unlike against the Clippers, just aren’t as good as their opponent’s superstars, and Ibaka is every bit a star as each of Matthews and Afflalo. Once again, lack of a quality bench is the Blazers’ downfall, though they should address this need in the offseason and be back to go even further next year.
Series Prediction: Oklahoma City wins 4-2