Portland Trail Blazers

Portland had one of the best offseasons out of any team in the league and because it is always ‘Dame Time,’ they have a chance to be a legit championship contender this season. During the seeding games prior to the start of the playoffs, Damian Lillard put up video game-like numbers, averaging 37.6 points per game, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and shooting just about 44% from the floor and 40.7% from three-point range, leading him to be named the unanimous MVP of the NBA restart.

This offseason, the Blazers added Derrick Jones Jr, Robert Covington, Harry Giles and Enes Kanter to provide depth in three different areas, and they also re-signed Carmelo Anthony and Rodney Hood. Now, the Blazers have depth at every single position and finally have a range of scoring options on the wing and in the frontcourt, which should help Lillard and McCollum a lot.

Through the years, the number one thing that has propelled the Portland Trail Blazers is how efficient they are on the offensive end of the court. The last two years, the Blazers have ranked inside the Top 10 in points per game and have finished in the Top 10 in three-point percentage 6 of the last 7 seasons.

Their offensive game revolves around the three-point basket and they went out and improved in this area even more this offseason. Robert Covington has shot 35.6% from three-point range over the course of his 7-year NBA career and both Carmelo Anthony and Rodney Hood shot the three-ball at a high percentage last season. Before injuring his Achilles and missing the remainder of the season, Hood was shooting 49.3% from three-point range and was having the best season of his young career.

Injuries also played a major role in Portland’s quick playoff exit last year. In the playoffs in Orlando, the Portland Trail Blazers were without: Trevor Ariza, Rodney Hood, Zach Collins and Kent Bazemore. Plus, Jusef Nurkic was just returning from a broken leg injury and C.J. McCollum was playing with a fracture in his back. 

Now, with this team finally healthy and fully reloaded, they could end up being one of the best teams in the entire Western Conference this season and Damian Lillard could be in discussion for his first MVP award. 

When it is “Dame Time,” there is no stopping Damian Lillard and if he turns it on again near the end of the season like he did last year, it will be extremely hard to stop the Portland Trail Blazers from advancing round-after-round in the playoffs. Portland is here to stay and they are “all-in” on pursuing their second championship in franchise history.