Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers paced the league for quite some time. The talented young squad looked very well coached, extremely well balanced and had a wonderful depth and blend of youth and experience.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the way as he put together a career season, often looking completely unstoppable and like he was ready to take over the mantle as the best power forward in the game. He led the Trail Blazers in points (23.2 points per game) and rebounds (11.1 rebounds per game) and was a vocal presence on the floor and in the locker room.
More from Portland Trail Blazers
- Damian Lillard needs just two words to dismantle a Blazers fan’s hot take
- NBA Rumors: Stalled trade talks may lead to Blazers, 76ers keeping stars
- The NBA’s strong message to Lillard clears path for a major trade
- NBA Trades: Is this the deal that finally sends Damian Lillard to Miami?
- 5 players who will challenge Victor Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year
He had the support of some terrific young players as well.
Nicolas Batumcontinued his improvement and displayed a complete and all around game on a nightly basis, while
Damian Lillardmade the Portland front office look like geniuses as he had a brilliant sophomore season after a Rookie of the Year campaign just a season before.
The roster was then filled out with solid role players who not only knew their role on the team, but also played it well. Without fanfare or fuss, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez went about playing defense, grabbing rebounds and hitting jump shots while playing within the Portland system.
A number of key wins over tough competition such as the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder — and the expectations really started to skyrocket.
While the second half of the season lacked the same consistency as the first, the Trail Blazers made the NBA playoffs and systematically took down the more favored Houston Rockets. Aldridge, Lillard, Batum and Matthews were all terrific as they took the Blazers into the second round. While this was as far as they would go, it set the bar for where the Trail Blazers can and should be.
This season, the Portland squad are aiming even higher and the expectations for them are sky high. The core remains intact, and you can already see the career trajectory of Damian Lillard and Batum skyrocketing. Another consistently brilliant and All-Star worthy season from Aldridge and the Blazers have to be considered for the NBA postseason once more.
When you take a look at the departures and arrivals, the Portland Trail Blazers are actually even better than they were last season. They did lose Mo Williams who played terrific minutes for them last year, but have brought back Steve Blake to play that role.
Robin Lopez will be given plenty of assistance from former Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers center Chris Kaman, who is a solid low post scorer, rebounder and defender. C.J. McCollum is not as much an “addition” in the true sense of the word, but after playing less than half of his rookie season due to injury, a fit and firing “Lillard-lite” can only be an instrumental bonus to the team.
The Portland franchise have built a very solid unit. They are talented, deep, balanced and experienced. You can add to that list of adjectives – hungry. After getting a taste of success, you can bet this squad wants plenty more of it. They know what it takes to win, they know how to battle through and take a playoff series. Now, they will be looking to dethrone some of the Western Conference heavyweights and set their sights on the Western Conference Finals.