Portland Trail Blazers: Playoff Experience Beneficial To Growth

What benefits did the Portland Trail Blazers gain from their short appearance in the 2017 NBA Playoffs?

The Portland Trail Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs on Monday, falling to the Golden State Warriors, 128-103, to complete a four-game sweep.

The Blazers fought hard in those four games. However, the high-level play of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant ended up being too much for Portland to handle.

Additionally, the depletion of Portland’s frontcourt due to various injuries left an opportunity for Warriors center JaVale McGee to come away with some big production off the bench.

Following Portland’s 119-113 loss in Game 3, CBS Sports’ Matt Moore wondered if this series was beneficial for the Blazers.

It’s a fair question to ask. Much is made about the benefits of “playoff experience,” but is it actually worthwhile?

The Trail Blazers were 24-35 entering the month of March. They had to play otherworldly ball just to get back into contention.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings (25-35), Dallas Mavericks (24-35), Minnesota Timberwolves (24-36), and New York Knicks (24-36) all had similar records at the time. Each team ended up coasting to the end of the season.

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Would it have been better to remain among that herd? Should they have “waited until next year” instead of fighting to only play four additional games?

The replies to Moore’s query were mixed. Some felt Blazer players were getting good experience from the series. A few specified that Noah Vonleh, receiving his first extensive playoff minutes of his career, was the main beneficiary.

Others felt Portland was only receiving the experience of getting swept by the best team in the NBA.

But the Trail Blazers greatly benefitted from their short stint in the 2017 NBA Playoffs. It wasn’t just beneficial to the players on the floor, but to the entire organization and its growth.

Every non-rookie on the Blazers roster has already played in a playoff series prior to this year. However, there’s nothing wrong with getting in another round of games. It helps to foster a culture where players want to constantly compete.

Fighting to win as many games as possible can aid a team collectively when the stakes eventually get higher. This is true whether a player is young or not.

It is also prevailing wisdom that an NBA venue has a different atmosphere in the playoffs than in the regular season. The arena is packed, the crowd is louder and teams are looking to demolish their opponent en route to a championship.

Enduring those types of games are especially big for lower seeds that have to fight against long odds of winning.

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But playoff experience can also be beneficial for those that don’t play on the court. It can also help the general manager. A GM gets a clearer idea of their team’s future needs when it loses in the competitive field of the playoffs.

It also challenges the GM to find the right players in the draft. Playoff teams normally pick in the middle of the NBA Draft’s two rounds, barring any trades. This forces them to find players that are valuable to the team instead of backing into the lottery and hoping to strike big with a top pick.

Lottery picks can certainly be game-changers. However, a good front office that does its homework will find valuable players that can help the team continue to compete without tanking.

Blazers general manger Neil Olshey will face this test this summer. His team is armed with three picks in the latter stages of the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Playoff experience can also be big for the organization because playoff teams are more attractive to talented free agents.

This past summer, 10 of the top 20 free agents in win shares were unrestricted and signed with new teams. Seven of those 10 went to teams that made the 2016 NBA Playoffs. One of the three that didn’t, the Washington Wizards‘ Ian Mahinmi, is playing for a team that ended up making this year’s postseason.

Within that same top 20, eight unrestricted free agents chose to stay with their teams. All of those teams played in the 2016 NBA playoffs.

Portland’s salary situation currently precludes them from making any deals this summer. However, continued playoff experience could entice a free agent whenever cap space opens up.

Despite the result, the Portland Trail Blazers’ series against the Golden State Warriors was good experience for the players and the front office. It shows that the team has competitive spirit, which boasts team morale and tends to be magnetizing to other high-level players.

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But that experience is over now. The Blazers must take what happened to them this season and apply it in hopes of a better future.