I'm a little late on this but didn't the season sneak up on all of us. Portland did well in the bubble last year after getting Jusif Nurkic and Zach Collins back but were still the #8 seed. They were greatly overmatched against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs and were out after their first round loss. This year they add Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. and get back Rodney Hood while Zach Collins should be healthy at some point. While I'd love to think they'll make great strides this year with a healthy team I think they are probably a #6 seed waiting to happen. To get in the top four of the western conference it will take a huge change on the defensive end. These guys can score but defensively they struggle. Hopefully Convington and Jones Jr. can help them on the perimeter but it'll take more than two guys to turn this around. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season brings. Portland is fun to watch and you have to expect Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to be studs again. Nurkic is so good too. If this team doesn't make strides I'll be curious to see if management makes some type of change. Go Blazers!
Obviously, I haven't been impressed with their defense after their first two games, but I'm hoping that they'll improve and are just getting used to the new teammates as they barely had any time to get ready for the season. I'm still cautiously optimistic and think they have the talent to finish in the top 4, but we'll see.
ReplyDeleteIt'll take time to gel so there is hope. Preseason was very short. The whole league is in the same boat. I don't think any of these teams are playing like they will in a month. Will be fun to see how it all shakes out.
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