On The Woj Pod, Neil Olshey discussed his goal of building a Portland Trail Blazers team that could start the 2020-21 season off hot. Is this Blazers team trustworthy right away?
As owners of the second-longest postseason streak in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers have become, in a way, one of the most reliable teams in the Association. But ask any longtime observer, and they’ll tell you that there are two situations in which they can’t be trusted: (1) in third quarters and (2) in early season stretches from October to say, January.
In a recent back-and-forth on The Woj Pod with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey discussed how pertinent it was that Portland fixed that problem this offseason. For all of the brilliance the Blazers have put on film over the last half-decade, much of it has come out of necessity, because the team has struggled to open the season with urgency.
Olshey’s entire interview was worth the listen, but as it relates to a more present time, one quote of his sticks out above all else:
"“I think when you look at the number of picks that were traded and conveyed in deals … and I know we did it. We took the approach of, we want more of the known right now. Right? We want more of the guys we know we can put on the floor that can help you win a game (on) Day One.We weren’t playing the uncertainty game and the upside of younger players. It’s why we moved out of the Draft. It’s why in free agency, we opted for established veteran players from strong programs.”"
Olshey’s receipts certainly back up. Looking at the players the Blazers added or returned through free agency and trades this fall — Carmelo Anthony, Rodney Hood, Robert Covington, Enes Kanter, Derrick Jones Jr., Harry Giles — that’s an average of 7.7 years worth of experience in the NBA.
On the flip side, that’s also more than a few moving pieces, especially with two of them expected to be inserted in the Blazers’ starting lineup this season.
As noted in the schedule release, the Portland Trail Blazers are returning 64 percent of last year’s minutes, a number that ranks No. 17 in the league. That provokes an interesting question:
With what we know both historically about this year’s Portland Trail Blazers and how tough their schedule figures to be during the NBA season’s “second half,” how trustworthy is this unit on Opening Day?
Dating back to 2015-16, when Damian Lillard became the unequivocal driver of Portland’s engine, here’s how the Blazers have fared on a month-to-month basis.
October and November — 51-51 (50.0 win percentage, 41-win pace in 82-game season)
December + January — 77-72 (51.7 win percentage, 42-win pace in 82-game season)
February + March + April — 94-57 (62.3 win percentage, 51-win pace in 82-game season)
That’s a fascinating jump. But, if the Blazers are truly hoping for championship contention, they won’t put themselves in that position, something Olshey also alluded to:
"“There are guys that on any given night, if you don’t respect the game, if you don’t respect their ability to beat you, you’re gonna get caught on a given night and give a game away that you shouldn’t give away. And I think we learned that lesson that year, Woj.I’ve said this, when people have asked about you know, ending up as the No. 8 seed and having to play the Lakers in the First Round, was that we put ourselves in that position, you know. We were kind of cavalier about some games last year in our conference that we thought we could just maybe roll the ball out and go get a win … and it backfired.”"
There’s reason to believe the Blazers will be able to change their fortunes after losing 16 games to sub-.500 teams a season ago. But for it to happen, the Blazers can’t afford to be cocksure in their approach, and it means that Damian Lillard becomes more “truck” than “trailer,” helping drive them forward instead of pulling them. In doing so, a hot start will be of utmost importance.