2011-12 Portland Blazers Overview
The Portland Blazers always appear to have some of the most talented rosters in the league year in and year out, but unfortunately this team has been hit with one of the most extreme case of injuries than any other team this decade. They would assemble a plethora of immeasurable talent every year, but then injuries would hit and they wouldn’t be well placed to recover.
Notwithstanding all of the injuries the Blazers faced last year, they still managed to churn in a winning record of 46-36 and the No. 6 seed in the West. The Blazers would lose to eventual champ Dallas Mavericks in the first round. In spite of the first round loss, the Blazers considered the postseason berth as a little victory as they were without Greg Oden and Brandon Roy for almost all of the season.
Due to Roy’s dreadful knee injuries, he was compelled to play in only 47 games last season. His knees have been operated 6 times during the past couple of years and there wasn’t any cartilage left, prompting doctors to advise Roy that he should retire. Roy then chose to retire with the advisement of his medical staff. Roy was one of the most promising young stars in the NBA before injuries took down his young career, and the city of Portland will miss his play seriously.
Oden has not played a single game in more that two years, and he had microfracture surgery on his left knee in November 2010. The Trailblazers did sign him to a one year contract with the hope that he could still revive his career, however he has suffered another setback in his rehabilitation process and it’s become unclear if he’ll even be in a position to play this year.
Regardless of all the injuries to major hitters, this squad has still accomplished a lot and they’ll continue to accomplish a lot this year. They have still got a lot of terribly accomplished players this season, and they will continue to play with a chip on their shoulder and a never say never attitude. The Blazers will again be a challenger in the West this season, even without Roy and Oden.
Trading Miller for Felton in the offseason was a skilled class move as Felton is an upgrade in nearly every aspect of the point guard position. Raymond Felton put 15.5 points and 8.3 assists last season and he is going to be in the starting backcourt alongside SG Wesley Matthews. Wesley Matthews had a breakout season last year offensively and will look to continue that roll coming in to this year.
LaMarcus Aldridge will pace the play in the interior for the Trailblazers this year. Aldridge has become debatably the most underrated player in the NBA after singlehandedly leading the team to a playoff berth last year with fantastic numbers and clutch plays down the stretch of games. He will be joined by C Marcus Camby who put up 4.7 points, 10.3 boards and 1.6 blocks a night. Underrated SF Gerald Wallace finishes out the beginning lineup after putting up 15.7 points and 8 boards a game last season.
The Trailblazers feature an excellent starting five which will contend with pretty much anyone in the NBA. But their bench will actually be a cause for concern though with very little proven talent across the board. Nicolas Batum and Kurt Thomas are good players, but they’re the sole 2 that can be trusted to supply quality minutes heading into the year. Guys like Earl Barron, Elliot Williams, Nolan Smith, Armon Johnson, and Chris Johnson will have to step up if this bench is going to produce.
Western Conference Prediction: 2nd Northwest Division – Year and year out, the Blazers churn out winning seasons in spite of all of the adversities this team face. They have certainly become one of the more underrated groups in the league from that viewpoint. They feature some undervalued players who just understand how to play the proper way, and with the leadership of Nate Mcmillan, this team will once more be one of the contenders in the west. That is why my NBA predictions have them ranked so high.
Their starting 5 is undeniably good enough to challenge virtually anyone in the league, and they are certainly a top 6 team in the west. But their bench will prevent them from being top 3.
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