Trail Blazers confidence meter heading into preseason opener vs. Clippers

Blazers basketball is almost back! The Portland Trail Blazers have four preseason games to help prepare for the regular season. Their first game is tonight (October 11) against the Los Angeles Clippers, which takes place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Tip-off will be at 7:30 pm PT, and the game will be available to watch via NBA League Pass.

The Blazers announced that they would launch the BlazerVision streaming service and partner with Sinclair/KATU to broadcast games over the air this season to provide fans in the Pacific Northwest with more accessibility. But that will have to wait at least a bit longer, as the only preseason game to be available on Rip City TV Network and BlazerVision is their final game on Friday, October 18, against the Utah Jazz, according to their official schedule.

Preseason is significant for jumbled Blazers team

These four preseason games are crucial for a Blazers team that is looking to come away from the 2024-25 season with more clarity. Unfortunately, they won't get that from Robert Williams III or Shaedon Sharpe, who are both out with injuries.

Williams suffered a grade 1 left hamstring strain and is expected to miss two weeks, making his return for their season opener at home against the Warriors on October 23 questionable. Sharpe will definitely miss that game, as his timetable to return is four to six weeks after suffering a small posterior labral tear in his left shoulder.

Those are both significant blows, but the Blazers can still utilize these next four games to get a better sense of where they are in terms of their roster. They added Donovan Clingan and Deni Avdija into the mix, both of whom should have substantial roles from the jump. Billups can experiment with different lineup combinations involving those two and figure out how to best utilize their talents and integrate them into their system.

Blazers set for another season nearing 21 wins

This year will be huge for the Blazers to figure out what exactly they are and what areas they need to address going forward. But in terms of this season alone, the Blazers are in for a long year.

They are coming off a 2023-24 season with only 21 wins. While Avdija and Clingan are both excellent additions, they aren't All-Star-level players or "needle movers" that will immediately change the trajectory of the team, especially after factoring in the considerable loss of their floor general Malcolm Brogdon, who also happened to have the best three-point shooting percentage (41.2) on the team last season.

The Western Conference is as loaded as ever, with every team besides the Blazers and Utah Jazz having playoff aspirations. The Blazers could finish with a similar record to their 21-61 season last season. Despite this, it's still a significant season for them in terms of player development and improving the trajectory of their rebuild. And that starts with training camp and preseason.

Trail Blazers confidence meter: 3/10