2021 NBA Playoffs: Contender or pretender with all 16 teams

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2021 NBA Playoffs: Contender or Pretender – Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard is an offensive force like few others. He is a threat to shoot from anywhere on the court, with a hyper-fast release, and has a track record of hitting enough to keep defenses up at night. When the games count the most and the pressure is the highest, he shoots even better.

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That means any team playing with Lillard is a threat, no matter the talent level. What benefits the Portland Trail Blazers this season is that the talent around him is in fact very good. Extended injury absences from their second and third-best players deflated their win total, but this team has a theory and parts that fit together.

Does that mean the Trail Blazers and their bottom-third defense can put together enough stops to make noise in the playoffs? It’s hard to say, especially as they will have to face either the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers or the Phoenix Suns in the second round. Lillard and Portland can beat either of those teams, as they can technically beat any team in the league on a given night.

They shouldn’t be favored, however, and that’s only the second round. They may not have to face an elite guard in the opening round with Jamal Murray out, but starting in the second round they just might, and in the Conference Finals and beyond it’s virtually a given. Can this team defend opposing backcourts? Which teams will find the right buttons to push on defense to take the ball out of Lillard’s hands? In the end, this group can battle, but they aren’t a realistic shot to win it all.

Verdict: Pretender