Portland Trail Blazers starting lineup: Ranking their projected starting 5

No. 2 – CJ McCollum – Shooting guard

CJ McCollum’s time in the NBA restart was hampered by an L3 vertebral transverse process fracture (non-displaced) after having suffered the injury in the very first seeding game. Now, several months later, McCollum should be good to go by opening night, and the team will need him to be the best version of himself.

The guard is a fringe All-Star and one of the premier shooting guards in the league today. McCollum is coming off one of his best seasons, as he averaged 22.2 points on .451/.379/.757, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. A healthy CJ McCollum is a dangerous sight for opposing defenses, and he is second only to his running mate in the backcourt in Portland’s starting lineup.

No. 1 – Damian Lillard – Point guard

Damian Lillard has been in the upper echelon of the point guard hierarchy for years now, and he is only getting better. The 30-year-old guard is coming off a career year and an extraordinary run that helped will the Portland Trail Blazers into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Throughout the eight seeding games in the bubble, Lillard averaged an impressive 37.6 points per game and unanimously earned ‘bubble MVP’ for his heroic efforts.

Now, with a revamped supporting cast, the Portland Trail Blazers are going to be a serious contender in the loaded Western Conference, and it starts with Damian Lillard. With all of the changes made this offseason, there are high expectations for Lillard, and he could potentially make a run at league MVP honors this season.