Last season did not go as planned for the Trail Blazers. Lillard only played 29 games due to injury, the GM was fired during the season, CJ McCollum was traded and the team only won 27 games, their worst in over 20 years. Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, and Jusuf Nurkic signed new deals in the offseason. The Lillard extension was huge as there were lots of rumors of him possibly leaving. Simons is expected to fill McCollum's shoes. In the draft the Blazer chose Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker. Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II joined the team as free agents.
This team will win more than 27 games this year. How much they contend will depend on Lillard being the Lillard of old and how the new pieces in the lineup work. I really don't know what that looks like. Fans have had hope for Simons for years. He did well last year with both Lillard and McCollum not playing. What does his game look like with Dame playing? I really like the Grant and Payton editions. Grant can score playing SF or PF. Payton is a great defender.
Coach Chancey Billups has his work cut out for him. Lots of change means figuring out how this team works together. The starting five should be fun to watch if they all live up to expectations. I worry about depth but most teams do. These big contracts the starters and elite players demand make it tough. Still the Trail Blazers are trying. They went different. It looks like they could be better than the Terry Stotts era teams long term but this first season could go one of many ways. Should be fun and nerve wracking for us Portland fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment