The much needed All-Star break has arrived, hopefully sparking another playoff run for the struggling Blazers.
Prior to this season, many fans and experts expected a top five seed from the Portland Trail Blazers. An upset over the Los Angeles Clippers and a hard fought solo win against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors shed hope for the future of this young team. Needless to say, those expectations were not met in the first half of the season. If the season ended today, the Blazers would watch the playoffs at home from a couch and would have the ninth overall pick.
Ouch.
There is, however, a lot of potential improvement. Portland recently traded Mason Plumlee to Denver for Jusuf Nurkić to finally acquiring a big, pure, low-post center who can score and defend the paint. His debut was promising with 13 points on 5-5 shooting and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes. On top of that, the Blazers have the 4th easiest remaining schedule in terms of opponent’s team record. Then there is the hope instilled from last season, where Portland won a majority of their final 30 games to launch themselves into the 5th seed. Familiar territory will help young veterans such as Damian Lillard to step up and lead.
Looking ahead is easier and less painful than reflecting on the first half. The first 50 games brought one of the toughest schedules in the league. A slew of injuries kept key players form contributing on the court. Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Meyers Leonard, Ed Davis and Evan Turner have all missed some games this season. Turner won’t be back for about a month, and Aminu is still day-to-day. It’s still bad, but it’s a lot better than in the first half. The team chemistry will continue to get stronger and hopefully that will lead to a playoff push.
A Playoff Berth, Sweep or Not, Could Become a Win-Win Situation
The Nurkić trade also got another first round draft pick (also from Denver but via Memphis.) This gives the team three first rounders total (other via Cavaliers). Now, some assume this is Olshey tanking, as trading for picks signals a push for young talent to rebuild. However, it’s also interesting to think that Olshey could trade those picks and a player for a top five pick. By doing this, the Blazers could still push for the playoffs yet have that top pick for a rebuild.
Constantly losing teams who hope to tank become a free agent shield. Arguably, the best players want to go to contenders, not teams in a four year rebuild. If the Blazers pull it together and get into the postseason, it’ll be for the 4th season in a row. That’s an impressive number for such a young team. During the offseason, or even on draft night, Olshey could trade for a high pick. This would ensure a good off-season resume for potential signees, as Portland would have a potential future star. We’re a couple years away, but with other teams getting older, a Portland run to the NBA Finals could be closer than we think.
I am in that bandwagon. Not only do I want to see Portland succeed, but I want them to get the benefits of a tanking team without the losing. Success both ways could work. It would be more than hard to execute all of that perfectly. But it can happen, and Blazer fans should hope it does.
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