Portland Trail Blazers 2012-13 NBA Preview
Photo Credit: Chrishmt0424 (Flickr.com)
Portland Trail Blazers
2011-12 Vitals:
28-38, 4th in Northwest Division, 11th in Western Conference
97.2 PPG/97.8 OPP PPG
2012-13 Roster:
LaMarcus Aldridge – PF
Luke Babbitt – SF
Will Barton – SG
Nicolas Batum – SF
Victor Claver – SF
Joel Freeland – F
J.J. Hickson – PF
Jared Jeffries – PF
Meyers Leonard – C
Damian Lillard – PG
Wesley Matthews – G
Sasha Pavlovic – SF
Ronnie Price – PG
Nolan Smith – G
Elliot Williams – G
Offseason Additions:
Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, Will Barton, Jared Jeffries
Offseason Subtractions:
Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Raymond Felton, Hasheem Thabeet, Kurt Thomas, Joel Przybilla
Projected Starters:
PG – Damian Lillard
SG – Wesley Matthews
SF – Nicolas Batum
PF – LaMarcus Aldridge
C – Meyers Leonard
Season Outlook:
The Portland Trail Blazers are under new direction, with new general manager Neil Olshey coming over from the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s already started to form the team in his vision and has publicly stated that it’s a work in progress.
Nobody expects much from the Blazers this year, with the possibility of two rookies in the starting lineup and their star player in LaMarcus Aldridge coming off of hip surgery. Still, they have a nice nucleus and are moving in the right direction.
Most likely, they’ll finish at the bottom of the division and conference, although on any given night, Aldridge can keep his team in the game, then win it for them down the stretch.
Best-Case Scenario:
Lillard wins the Rookie of the Year award with his terrific play at the point guard, and the rest of the starters produce at a high level. The Blazers don’t make the playoffs, but they win 40 games and feel great about 2013-14.
Worst-Case Scenario:
The Blazers don’t mesh and look just as bad as they did late in 2011-12. Their defense totally caves and the rookies play, well, like rookies. Lillard struggles with turnovers and the re-signing of Batum comes back to haunt them.
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