Trail Blazers Prediction - Decline

[BigKAT]

Just my two cents.

I think they might make the playoffs, but not as the 5th seed or 6th.
I give them 7-8 imo.

I think that they are like 14' Bucks and Suns, caught some teams by surprise, but next year people weren't being caught off guard. (Though the bucks were a slightly different team.)

Plus, I'm not sold on Ezeli and Turner honestly. I think Plumlee has plenty upside, and Leonard is a great shooter at his height, not to mention that they still have this guy called Noah Vonleh who was supposed to blossom over there.

And Turner, well. I dunno. He's a solid player, but I get that Brandon Knight vibe from him. That even if he puts up good numbers his team won't do that well.

[Spurs m8]

Yeah they overachieved last year....reality hits this season.

[FreezingTsmoove]

If the Bucks sat Jabari Parker out last season they make the playoffs easily so I dont understand the Bucks comparison

[BigKAT]

If the Bucks sat Jabari Parker out last season they make the playoffs easily so I dont understand the Bucks comparison

Jabari?
Really?

I thought their decline should be attributed to Greg Monroe and the loss of Zaza. I'm curious, why do you think Parker's the one to blame?

I mean sure, he wasn't anything extraordinary but I don't think he was deterimental.

[Milbuck]

Jabari?
Really?

I thought their decline should be attributed to Greg Monroe and the loss of Zaza. I'm curious, why do you think Parker's the one to blame?

I mean sure, he wasn't anything extraordinary but I don't think he was deterimental.
He's a complete retard and can't stand me. His opinion on anything Bucks is worthless.

[Spurs m8]

He's a complete retard and can't stand me. His opinion on anything Bucks is worthless.

This Freezing guy has average, biased takes on most things, it seems.

[FKAri]

I haven't really watched them for a few years but their big 3 of Oden/Roy/LMA will be hitting their prime. I think they contend.

[Nanners]

I have no idea what to expect from the Blazers. I wouldnt really be surprised by a decline, but I also wouldnt be surprised if they got even better. They managed to keep all of their important players from last season, and all of these players are in the 25-26 year old range and just now coming into their primes. McCollum, Harkless, Aminu, Crabbe... they are stacked with talented youngsters at the wing who can switch on defense and hit long range shots, guys who fit the modern NBA small ball style perfectly. If one or two of those guys continue to improve on what they did last season then baby you got a stew going.

I think Harkless/Aminu are really the key guys. If either of them continues developing into a quality stretch 4 the Blazers will be very dangerous. They both remind me of a bigger Trevor Ariza. Stotts was putting Harkless on CP3 for long stretches in the Blazers vs Clippers series a few months back and all things considered Harkless was doing a very good job.

On the other hand, Lillard is one of the most overrated players in the league. Offensively he is good with moments of absolute brilliance, but defensively he is one of the worst in the entire league and you need to be able to defend against good point guards in the west. The Blazers also seem to be really week at the 5 spot. Plumlee is inconsistent as hell, Myers Leonard is physically/mentally soft and constantly injured, and who knows with Ezeli....

[FreezingTsmoove]

He's a complete retard and can't stand me. His opinion on anything Bucks is worthless.

Youre such a ****ing retard this isnt about you at all :lol

Go look at the Team USA scrimmages the full game scrimmages anyone and everyone will tell you just how BAD and negative Jabari Parkers game is to his team. Even if you dont have time to watch the game on youtube go ahead and read the comments

Jabari is net negative on the court after the ACL injury

Poor defense, doesnt spread the floor, Horrible passer

[JohnMax]

Lillard is a top 5 player and will not allow a decline.

[Spurs m8]

Lillard is a top 5 player and has the strongest case for best PG outside of Curry.

Is that what you think though?

[sunnyboy91]

POR will be in the 5-8 spot, maybe 40-46 wins. They will just stagnate but I dont think they'll fall off a cliff or drop out of the playoffs tbh.

[BigKAT]

POR will be in the 5-8 spot, maybe 40-46 wins. They will just stagnate but I dont think they'll fall off a cliff or drop out of the playoffs tbh.


Can you imagine getting into the playoffs with 40 wins in the West two years ago? Lol how times are changing. I wonder if this is just a blip or a trend. Remember that 48-win Suns who missed out?

[Annyong!]

POR will be in the 5-8 spot, maybe 40-46 wins. They will just stagnate but I dont think they'll fall off a cliff or drop out of the playoffs tbh.
This.

[HurricaneKid]

I think there is a completely reasonable case to be made that they miss the playoffs. First off, EVERY LAST GRIZZLY had to get hurt for them to move up from the 6 seed. So at their peak they are realistically a 6 seed.

Over the last two offseasons they have had to pay McCollum, Crabbe, Harkless, Leonard, Dame, Aminu, and Ed Davis. That's their entire lineup. They added Ezeli and Turner. Neither of those guys is going to move the needle. At all.

I think they fall quite a ways. They could Its a seriously flawed team. Zero backcourt defense. And the West is DEEP. Outside of LAL and SAC, any team could contend for the 8 seed.

They ARE fun to watch though. A lot of firepower, a lot of athletes, and a lot of points go up on the board.