NBA Power Rankings 3: Giannis for MVP and bold predictions for every team

Preseason Record: 0-4

The Portland Trail Blazers may only get this season, or even the start to the season, to convince Damian Lillard that he can contend with the team built around him. The team did not get off to a hot start, with an 0-4 record in the preseason with the league’s worst point differential.

Lillard himself was strong in limited minutes, shooting 58 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range. The team around him had trouble getting the ball in the net, and their opponents had no trouble scoring themselves. Stephen Curry in particular went supernova against them in the preseason finale.

The preseason has to be taken with a major grain of salt, but when it confirms your priors it has greater weight. Starting Lillard, CJ McCollum and Norman Powell puts this team in an incredibly difficult place defensively, as Lillard and McCollum are both poor defenders and Powell is undersized at the 3. To help put the team in a better position to contend against the elite backcourt in the Western Conference they may need to bring Powell off the bench and start Larry Nance Jr. alongside Robert Covington.

Bold Prediction: Damian Lillard stays…but CJ McCollum is traded. The other option to make the defense sustainable is to move one of their small guards. Lillard has created deep bonds with the city of Portland and it will take a lot for him to finally request a trade. The team could finally decide to split up the backcourt in a move similar to what Toronto did with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Exchanging McCollum for a larger wing, be that Ben Simmons or another option, can help this roster make a little more sense.