Portland shuffles supporting cast, but it’s still all about the guards

Predictions

Though the roster is flawed, it’s difficult to see Damian Lillard miss the playoffs. He alone is good enough to earn the Portland Trail Blazers a spot, though it’ll be tougher this season than in years past. The West got better and deeper (again), meaning that they can’t afford to take a night off.

What the Blazers have above most other contenders is continuity. Lillard and CJ McCollum have been here before, and done it together, which will help the team manage the lulls of the regular season.

The coaching staff’s experience in developing players will make something out of Hezonja, hopefully filling a Jake Layman-type role as a slashing wing with some flare. Rodney Hood builds on his career renaissance from last season and Anfernee Simons rises to the occasion, making the second unit passable.

Many have called the Hassan Whiteside acquisition a flex of Portland’s ability to manage personalities and they’re right. The tower will fill a role nicely, becoming the best pick-and-roll finisher Lillard’s ever had while also anchoring a league-average defense.

An addition is made, but not in the way everyone wants it to. A distressed asset who can play the 3 and 4 falls into Portland’s buy-low price range, and becomes playable when it matters most. Zach Collins becomes a playable center who takes the crunch-time minutes Whiteside can’t handle, while also being OK against bigger 4s when facing two-big lineups.

The Blazers claw their way to 45-47 wins and eke into the playoffs as a No. 7 or No. 8 seed. Lillard finishes top-five in MVP voting.

Their work on the margins, while impressive as always, is no match for the West’s elite; their star power keeps them in a few games, but the holes elsewhere are too big when the lights shine bright. A first-round exit is nothing to be ashamed of.