[r377Participant]

How do you think the blazers will go ? I think they are a bit underrated. They took the champs to six games – only miami did the same. Mavs swept the lakers and 4-1 against the thunder.

Youngsters Batum and Matthews will continue to improve.  More team chemistry with Gerald Wallace to mesh with his new team – he is one of the most underrated and hardest working players in the league. They got an absolute steal getting him from the bobcats…

X-Factors being Oden and Roy ?

I am not going to scream NBA champs but they could definitely make some noise in the playoffs….

[JaeEvolutionParticipant]

I think their ceiling in the West is 3rd seed. Someone on this site I think IndianaBasketball says Greg Oden is starting to look like he’s coming around from his last injury so I like a lot of people want to see him start his career. Also they acquired Raymond Felton who was playing GREAT ball last year with New York for his short stint and was decent off the bench in Denver but it was clear he was unhappy. I’m not sure about B-Roy at all I hope he can get back to his old self, but only time will tell.

All in all every year before basketball begins I look at the Blazers roster and its always stacked from top to bottom, but every year it seems like thats all it is, and unfortunately injuries always hit them hard, but if they can have a healthy roster, a healthy Greg, and an 80% B-Roy they are truly scary.

[Charlie SheenParticipant]

They need a go to wing scorer and Roy might get release with the amnesty clause also they need front court depth and who knows with Oden. If everyone were at full health then hell yeah they’d be contenders but as of right now I see them as a 6 seed since the west wont be as good next year (Lakers, Mavericks, Grizzles, Thunder and Spurs are all better)

If Full Health

Camby

Aldridge

Wallace

Roy

Felton

Matthews, Batum, Oden, Johnson

If Not

Camby

Aldridge

Wallace

Matthews

Felton

Batum, Johnson

The biggest thing is depth 

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

 i like their lineup a lot…

i wonder if they will re-sign Oden 

[omphalosParticipant]

They might get that go-to wing scorer in Jamal Crawford, who was being recruited on Twitter by Aldridge among others. He might be the final piece they need to really contend.

As always, it comes down to health, but the Blazers can beat any team in the NBA when healthy, they have that much talent and are that well coached. If they could just put it all together for one full season, they could win it all. At this stage though, they will only go as far as Aldridge can take them, and unfortunately he’s in a conference with dominant PFs in Randolph, Nowitzki, Gasol and a still effective Duncan. That said, I really believe in this team, and letting go of Roy is the best thing for them, because a disgruntled vet who won’t recover from his injury is no help in the locker room.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Roy is done. There is no getting healthy guys. I loved the playoff moment last year when he won that game for them. But what made it special is that he and the rest of the team knows that he has injuries that you don’t recover from. You were watching a dead man eating his last supper. He enjoyed it and we are all happy for him that he enjoyed it, but he is done.

Oden, it seems, will never be healthy. But we don’t know that for sure. Oden has the potential to be one of the best centers in the league not named Dwight Howard. That is pretty good. And yes, with Oden and Aldridge and Batum they have a good team. I don’t think Jamal is going to help, but I’ve never been a Jamal fan, especially if you want him as a starter. 6th man, well maybe it works on the right team. 

But Oden is the wild card. Any talk about the Blazers has to really take that into account. And by wild card, I mean as wild as they come. In the history of the NBA, if you have the second best center in the league, you are contending. Oden could be the second best center. Yes, in some ways that doesn’t mean like much because who is number two right now. But seriously, if you can go into almost every game and have and advantage at center and then have a great power forward as well. You should be able to over power most teams most nights. 

I don’t think Oden can stay healthy. But if he cans, he and the Blazers will surprise you. Oden will win you basketball games if he can play 30 to 35 minutes a game for an entire season. It is as simple as that. The guy has that kind of potential. 

[TheLastWordParticipant]

There are a lot of "what ifs" that need answering before the Blazers can be projected. The biggest two being will Oden stay healthy and will the new CBA allow an amnesty provision to get rid of Roy’s contract. If both are positive, the Blazers can come out of the West soon.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I’ve been saying Roy was done since last season. You can’t play without any mensicus in both knees. Their have been players who’ve struggled to keep their careers going with 50% of their meniscus missing, in just one knee… Roy has zero percent remaining in both knees. And with the new amnesty clause in the next CBA, Roy will be waived immediately. I personally think he should go on ahead and retire. Enjoy his money, wife and two little boys.

I like these Blazers though. Lamarcus Aldridge is getting ready to take a step another step up. And McMillian’s teams always play great defense. They play a playoff brand of basketball. Tough defense, slow grind. Despite all of the hoopla about Miami’s defense, the Blazers defended the Mavs better than any team in the playoffs.

Adding Felton gives this team another dimension. He’ll push the ball and get athletes like Batum, Wallace and Aldridge out in transition. This team has the pieces to play any way.

Like it was said above, Oden is the wildcard. IF he’s healthy, this team can definitely win a title. I know it’s been said before, but I do think the worst is behind Oden. He’s coming back to the Blazers at 7′ 0" 260 lbs. That’s 20 lbs under the playing weight he’s been at and close to what he was at Ohio State.

The Western Conference should be VERY interesting this season with the Mavs trying to repeat, the Lakers looking to return to glory, the Thunder trying to take that next step and super talented squads like the Blazers and Grizzlies, who could make it to the Finals and not surprise anybody.

[joecheck88Participant]

I really like Portland and they always make noise in the playoffs(seem to give teams a scare every year despite the odds). The problem is they have no number 1 scorer. I have my doubts that Aldridge can do it. I doubt Jamal Crawford is the answer. They can win alot of games and probably a round in the playoffs but after that, they don’t have the personnel.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

 if Batum can step up and be the guy the Blazers are hoping he is, they will be a force…i heard they were offered numerous top 10 picks for Batum and they declined

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

@joecheck88

You may be right about them not having a number one guy, BUT I think Aldridge is heading that way… I think he’s about to take his game up a notch. He’s trained hard this summer like a number one guy… Expecting to be the number one guy. Mentally (physically too), he’s a different player now.

 

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

To be honest, I like Nicolas Batum just as much if not more. Seeing him do well for France this summer and playing well overseas is not helping me like him any less :). I saw Nicolas at the Hoop Summit in 2007, and he looked awesome. Than, when the Blazers traded for him in the draft, I was a fan of the move, though of course worried about the apparent injury concerns. Seeing him play Summer League, he looked a little unsure of himself, definitely not as active as I wanted him to be. Jerryd Bayless looked amazing and I even thought Petteri Koponen looked more ready. When I saw Nicolas up close and personal in the pre-season that year, I realized I was very wrong. The guy was extremely aggressive and stuck to his man like glue. He was proclaimed the best perimeter defender on our team as a 20 year old rookie.

When you look at the picks we gave up for Nicolas, I think Portland honestly made the right move for the team. Someone may like Wesley Johnson more (I personally do not), but Nicolas is actually younger than Wesley Johnson, so you cannot use that famous argument. Now, Brandon Roy is a really hard person to factor in. I have had the same thought process as IndianaBasketball in that it will be impossible for Roy to play near his former level. I agree with IndianaBasketball about what will probably happen to Brandon Roy (It pains me to say it, as I am sure it pains Indiana as well). For those who think this is a similar situation to Grant Hill or Tracy McGrady, as far as learning a new role and changing their mentality, it is not. (Found this thing that IndianaBasketball) wrote, that I obviously missed at the time, but I think that he paints a very accurate picture in what he posts: http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/end-brandon-roy).

What I will say is, if Portland loses Roy, (ugh, I feel sick saying this) it is probably for the best. He had that incredible performance in Game 4 against Dallas, but for the season, the team was 25-22 (.532) with Roy and 23-12 (.657) without him. That is a pretty noticeable difference and while I am not sure Roy is all to blame, the team made a pretty successful shift without him. LaMarcus Aldridge took on an entirely new role, becoming much more post oriented without having to spend as much time on the perimeter clearing space for Roy to work his magic. He definitely flourished and while he was (unjustly) not an All-Star, he picked up a well deserved All-NBA 3rd team nod. LaMarcus will win his match-up consistently and played really well against some of the leagues best PF’s. He is knocking on the door of being one of the top PF’s in the league.

With LaMarcus taking the lead, the Blazers still have a fantastic supporting cast around him and a pretty balanced effort. Wesley Matthews proved to be well worth his contract. He may not have been close to the scorer that Roy was (not to many were), but he was proficient offensively and stepped in valiantly as Roy’s replacement. The Gerald Wallace trade looks to be an absolute steal (even with the Bobcats parlaying the pick for Bismack Biyombo).

Gerald brought a fantastic energy, versatility to play either forward spot and his proficient defensive ability on the perimeter. He is a fantastic example for Nicolas Batum, the two even play well together and push each other. As he spent more time with the Blazers, he took on more and more of a role as our second option. A game the Blazers lost to OKC (99-90), shows the impact that Wallace can have on a given night. He hounded Kevin Durant all night holding him to 21 points (5-18 shooting from the field) and finished with 40 points. Gerald may not do this all of the time, but he has that type of ability when playing some of the leagues best SF’s, and it fit really well in Portland.

The biggest question marks this year for the Blazers are at arguably the two positions crucial to most teams success, the PG and the C. Andre Miller was the heart and soul of the team, he is a pure winner and I believe that he will be missed. While the stat sheet may say that Raymond Felton should fill in just fine, I am not entirely sure. He is certainly a better long distance shooter than Andre, but I still question his ability as a real floor general. Raymond definitely is more careless with the ball and while he was seen by some as a potential All-Star last year on New York, his numbers were truly inflated in the system, with high TO numbers and a pretty low shooting percentage.

Even with this being said, I did not completely hate the trade and feel that Raymond might fit in pretty well with the Blazers. Raymond is only on a one year contract, so it is not incredibly high risk that they traded for him (Andre was also in the last year of his deal), but while he is definitely younger than Andre, I am unsure he is necessarily an upgrade. He certainly was an upgrade from life before Andre Miller, so I think that bodes well.

The X-Factor, as always, will be the post. A few years ago, it seemed like Portland had it made with the combination of Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. They could rebound and defend with the best of them, Greg could score some garbage buckets, looked like a winner. Well, Greg has been injured for almost two years now, Joel is gone and while the addition of Marcus Camby was nice for a while, he is not an effective solution as a starting Center at this point.

It is a sad thing when Marcus Camby is seen as your most durable true option at the position, but that has been the case. Marcus rebounded valiantly in his 59 games last year (10.3 per game in only 26 mpg) while blocking some shots like he always has. But, offensively, his below 40% shooting and 4.7 ppg, definitely left a lot to be desired.

With a healthy Greg Oden, we not only get the benefit of Camby style rebounding and shot blocking, but a guy who would surely be someone that would be worlds more efficient as a post scorer and finisher near the basket. A healthy Greg Oden means the Blazers could potentially have what Tyson Chandler was for the Mavericks last year, except more difficult to box out and with more offensive acumen. That is why you hope that he is healthy, and if he is, than the Blazers could be a force in the play-offs.

This upcoming season looks pretty promising for the Blazers, though they will have some things to discuss going forward. They do not really have any cap room, even if they were to use the amnesty clause on Roy, so I doubt they sign a major contributing FA. I have heard of them wanting Jamal Crawford or Carl Landry, but I doubt either of them would take the pay cut necessary to come off the bench in Portland. The line-up on opening day would more than likely be Aldridge (who played a lot of C), Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, Wes Matthews and Ray Felton. The hopeful line-up later on would include Greg Oden and move either Wallace or Nicolas to the bench. I actually feel Wallace might be the better for that spot, as he brings energy and versatility, plus the ability to slide in as a stretch 4 for Oden if he gets into foul trouble or is eased in slowly.

The bench will be Marcus Camby and a bunch of young players. Patty Mills is honestly a back-up PG I like quite a bit, while Elliot Williams, Armon Johnson and Nolan Smith all could be promising combo guards. Luke Babbitt had an underwhelming rookie year, but I would not be surprised if he saw more of a role. Also would not be surprised if he were part of a trade for a more legit back-up PF for LaMarcus. Either way, this line-up does not scream contender, but it has that kind of potential if everything falls into place and the injury bug does not bite. I think Portland should contend for home court advantage in the first round, and if everyone is healthy, they could be a serious threat to beat almost any team in the Western Conference. The Blazers played the Mavericks as well as any team in the play-offs other than Miami. With a healthy Greg Oden and some of their younger players having more experience, watch out.

[JunkYardDogParticipant]

 I watched batum here in france in proA and in euroleague…. and I can tell you he looks amazing. So much more agressive than few years ago, very confident, hreat leadership and clutch. His compaign with france (as for noah) was very positive for him as in the past it was for nowitski, gasol….

Portland can’t let him go. He’s a winner, a team player who could be a great complementary piece with star players. Therefor he should not ask for lot’s of money ’cause he’s not a stat’ player and very often the contracts are based on stats not on the "winning effect" of the player.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

What does the future lie ahead for my boy E-Will now that they brought in Nolan? After all they took him in the 1st Round.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Elliot Williams had a knee injury last season, so I’m interested in seeing how he bounces back.

I think he could find a role in the rotation during the regular season backing up Wes Matthews.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

I would hope so, because Portland likes to stock pile guys & not play them.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Who gets the most burn off the bench is what I would like to know…..Armon, E-Will, Nolan?

[HitsterParticipant]

I wonder if they will ever do anything with all those Euro guys that Kevin Pritchard stockpiled, Claver is perhaps the most likely to come over and could be a useful role player. I agree a lot depends on Oden and to a lesser extent Roy as perhaps Roy’s injury issues just cannot be overcome. The best case scenario for Roy could be he reinvents himself rather like say Grant Hill and Diceman who had much longer periods out with injury but if his knees are shot then maybe he would be best to bow out and not end up walking with a stick for the rest of his life.

I’d love to know if Roy’s knee issues showed up during his draft medicals as we all saw how Blair fell down the boards due to medical red flags. Maybe Portland took a risk on him being NBA ready and helping them improve but you then look at the 2nd contract and wonder if the issue was clear then.

[Author]

Posts