NBA Power Rankings: Preview the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest

Dearly Departed: Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel, Mario Hezonja, Hassan Whiteside

New Additions: Robert Covington, Harry Giles, Enes Kanter, Derrick Jones Jr.

Win Projection/Prediction: 40.5/Over

The Portland Trail Blazers are loaded. All of the issues they had coming into last season are gone. Two years ago they made the Conference Finals and then saw their defensive wing options walk in free agency. Jusuf Nurkic is healthy from day one this year and was dominant in the seeding games. This team will hit the ground running.

Robert Covington is the perfect wing for this team. He is a great team defender and will cover some of the weaknesses the backcourt has in that regard. Derrick Jones Jr. showed a skill set that meshes well on that end to further hammer it home. Harry Giles is an intriguing swing for the fences who is dying to break out on a good team. Enes Kanter was great off the bench in Portland two years ago and should provide more of the same.

CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard are going to go off this year. McCollum was a force in Orlando despite playing with a broken bone in his back. Lillard is threatening to pull up from half-court and the craziest part is the opponents have to respect it. His range is that unlimited. The amount of warping they can do to a defense with their shooting cannot be overstated. Combined with the merging Gary Trent Jr. and teams will be punished on a nightly basis.

The boldest prediction of this list is that Damian Lillard will be the MVP this season. He put up an insane line last season of 30.0 points, 8.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game and somehow feels like he is only getting started. He is cold-blooded and loves to let you know it. As the team pushes for the second seed in the Western Conference, he will be a great choice for the top regular-season award.