Portland Trail Blazers: Pre-Season Outlook
The Portland Trail Blazers’ pre-season is at an end. Not a lot of confidence or positivity is coming out. What do you make of this team to date?
The Portland Trail Blazers got rid of Terry Stotts for Chauncey Billups. Out with the old and in with the new, as the cliche goes. So far, the results are not anything to be excited about. If I’m Damian Lillard (that would be awesome), I’m having some serious doubts about this team.
Wait! Don’t go just yet. I fully understand this is pre-season basketball, and there shouldn’t be too much inferred from the results. Players are 1) trying to earn a roster spot, 2) fighting for rotation minutes, or 3) getting back in the flow. Also, the coaching staff is tinkering with lineup combinations. All this is to say nobody should get too carried away with the final box score.
However, seeing that the Portland Trail Blazers only scored over 100 points once is troublesome. Again, I’m not thinking that the Blazers will have trouble scoring the ball. The main guys currently are not getting their regular minutes.
Positives
There are some positives to take away from these pre-season games. The Portland Trail Blazers’ 2020 second-round draft pick, C.J. Elleby, looks like he’ll be able to play. There is still more development of his game that is necessary. However, he is making a believer out of me. A lockdown defender he will never be. Could he be a Duncan Robinson type? Yes! That is absolutely a possibility.
GM Neil Olshey brought in a pair of juniors. Larry Nance Jr. and Dennis Smith Jr. look like they’ll be good additions to the Portland Trail Blazers roster. Again, I had no issue with GM Neil Olshey acquiring Nance, just the cost associated. Nance will endear himself to Blazers fans.
Smith looks like he’s finally got his priorities straight. How long that will last is currently anyone’s guess. Keep this theory in mind. If Smith makes the roster might that make C.J. McCollum more expendable in a trade?
Concerns
The Portland Trail Blazers defense is still a huge concern. Again, it’s pre-season, and I have to believe Billups is currently experimenting. Consequently, the results are most displeasing. Everything about the defense is a complete mess. From the on-ball defense to rotations and turnovers.
So far, the Portland Trail Blazers are reckless with the ball and not causing opponents to be equally as reckless. Opponents are averaging 15.75 turnovers a game compared to Portland’s 23.5. For the most part, the Blazers are limiting their opponent’s points off turnovers.
They’re also capitalizing on the few turnovers they generate. These current trends are not sustainable over the course of a season. Something has to change.
“It's like a tune up, you try to work out the kinks… we’re just trying to figure it out" – Dame
📸: https://t.co/GkYMeVzJZ6 pic.twitter.com/GZZXj1yiSn
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 14, 2021
As previously stated, this is pre-season basketball, and not a lot should be taken with certainty. The talent on this roster is that of a playoff-caliber team. I expect them to reach the playoffs yet again this year. However, with as good as the Western Conference is, there are no guarantees.