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Portland Trail Blazers: Interview with True Blazer Fan

Doug Patrick|
PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 22: The Portland Trail Blazers stand on the court before Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Golden State Warriors of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 22: The Portland Trail Blazers stand on the court before Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Golden State Warriors of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
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PORTLAND, OR – NOVEMBER 15: CJ McCollum #3 and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the game against the Orlando Magic on November 15, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR – NOVEMBER 15: CJ McCollum #3 and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the game against the Orlando Magic on November 15, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

DP: Will the Blazers have a top 10 defense again this year?

TJ: Yes, as long as Jusuf Nurkic remains healthy.

While he might not block a lot of shots, Nurk is one of the most underrated rim protectors in the league (and a defensive box plus minus of 2.8 reflects that). The immediate improvement in our defense after he addition is also reflective of the impact he has. A main reason we improved defensively last year was the improvement of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, and as long as they maintain that improvement, I don’t see why we’d regress defensively.

Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless should continue to be versatile and solid on that end, and Zach Collins‘ development should help as well.

DP: Where do you see Dame at the end of the season (an MVP, All-NBA, All-Star)?

TJ: Dame has improved every season, and I don’t see that trend ending this year.

Considering the fact that he’s coming off a season where he finished 4th in MVP voting, I could see him challenging for MVP if the Blazers win more than 50 games. With that said, I don’t like using awards to judge player production, because most of them take team success into account. I see Dame simply building upon his season last year and producing at an MVP level (regardless if he gets MVP votes or not).

DP: In the loaded west, are the Blazers a playoff team?

TJ: Yes, if they remain healthy.

The only Western Conference teams that are a lock to make the playoffs this year is Golden State and Houston (assuming no catastrophic injury problems). After those two, you have seven teams battling for six spots: Portland, Utah, Denver, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, San Antonio, and the Lakers. Minnesota would’ve been in that group if they were able to keep Jimmy Butler. Any of those seven teams could miss the playoffs, and it will most likely be the team that deals with the most injury problems.

So, if Portland is able to remain healthy, they should be a playoff team for the 6th straight year.

DP: Which matchup are you most looking forward to this year?

TJ: Opening night against the Lakers. Opening night is always fun (especially since we’ve won 17-straight home openers). But the fact that LeBron’s first game for the Lakers will be in Portland adds so much national buzz to this matchup that it’ll be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a regular season game. Combined with the disrespectful narrative written against the Blazers all off-season, this could be a statement win with the whole nation watching.

Is it October 18th already? I can’t wait!

Want to hear more from Torey? Check out True Blazer Fan on YouTube and Twitter, or visit their Patreon here.

As someone who moved from covering the Cavs to the Blazers, I for one can say the channel provided me with tons of information regarding Portland’s team. It’s only a matter of time before their channel blows up, so get in while you can say, “I liked TBF before it was popular.”