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Portland Trail Blazers: Projecting playoff seeding for entire Western Conference

By Carson Brown

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 21: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans fight for position during a game on December 21, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 21: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans fight for position during a game on December 21, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LaMarcus Aldridge #12 and DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images)
LaMarcus Aldridge #12 and DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images) /

San Antonio Spurs: 8th Seed

The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a very underwhelming 2018-19 campaign. They were well coached and won big games, but lacked much excitement. They finished with the seventh seed in the Western Conference and had an early exit from the playoffs when they fell short against the Nuggets in seven games.

The Spurs have a very solid rotation led by DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge who still have some mileage left and are ready for another NBA circuit. DeRozan should be fired up from the get-go as he watched the player he got traded for win a title where he never could.

DeRozan is still very good, but had a quiet year in 2019. His scoring averages were down a bit, but rebounded and facilitated as well as ever. What’s concerning for DeRozan is fact that he shot 15.6 percent from the three-point line. 15  is a very discouraging number in today’s NBA.

LaMarcus Aldridge is still the same old LaMarcus Aldridge. You can expect 20 points and 10 rebounds almost every night with his focal point offensively being the mid-range game. Aldridge hasn’t shown signs of a decline coming soon which should keep Spurs faithful full of hope as this upcoming season begins.

The season would’ve looked different if their star defensive point guard Dejounte Murray hadn’t torn his ACL in the offseason. The Spurs will now finally get Murray back and hopefully he’s ready to go. Murray is very talented and if well prepared could end up being mentioned in the MIP conversation.

The only bright side of Murray’s injury was the experience Derrick White and Bryn Forbes gained. They both played extremely well in the Spurs system and made it clear they should be part of the rotation even when Murray returns.

The Spurs may not be as talented as a team that was left out, but none of those teams have a coach like Gregg Popovich or a system like the Spurs. The Spurs are not crazy talented nor crazy athletic but the mixture between talented veterans and their energetic youth is enough for Coach Popovich to propel them into the playoffs. The Spurs playoff appearance last year was the 22nd straight for the organization and this year won’t be the year the streak ends.

Never bet against Pop.