Portland Trail Blazers Team Preview 2010-2011
By Sam Littman
For the past couple years, Trailblazers fans have had the luxury of not being burdened with high expectations, while still confidently counting on having a good year. These reasonable expectations have been met for the most part, with the Blazers winning around 50 games and exiting the playoffs early.
Brandon Roy In light of recurring injuries that might potentially persist indefinitely, however, one wonders whether expectations will simply be heightened for the sake of putting pressure on the franchise, or if fans’ expectations will wilt due to inevitable disappointment. Hailing from a division that spawned four 50-win teams last year, the Blazers immediately find themselves pitted in heated a race with Denver, Oklahoma City and Utah that should be as intense on opening night as it will be in early April. They will compete for the division crown and a top seed in the West, but the likelihood of injuries prevents them from being a true favorite.
The Blazers boast one of the league’s most physical backcourts in Andre Miller and Brandon Roy, a tandem that was only strengthened by the addition of Wesley Matthews. The 34-year old Miller was deceptively great for Portland in the first year of his contract, arguably positioning himself as their second most valuable performer. Faced with a slew of devastating injuries, Miller kept them grounded at the point, playing all 82 games for the sixth time in seven years while contributing 14 points and 5.4 assists. Their fate ultimately lies in the performance of All-Star off-guard Brandon Roy, however, for if Roy can remain healthy they needn’t worry about much else; they won seven less games than the Lakers last year, and that was with Roy Missing 17 games, Nicolas Batum missing 45 and Oden missing 61. If Just Roy remained healthy, they certainly would have contended for the Western Conference crown. Wes Matthews will prove to be the best insurance policy the Blazers have yet taken out (even better than Camby), as he’s an efficient, top-notch man-to-man defender with a great work ethic and no major flaws to speak of.
The addition of Matthews, who plays like a 10-year veteran, should ease the strain on starting small forward Nicolas Batum, who should play more loosely this year as he continues to develop. Rudy Fernandez will not see quite as many minutes this year with an expectedly healthier Roy and the acquisition of Matthews, though he’ll still be a key contributor as a marksman off the bench.
Greg OdenEven with Greg Oden’s nagging injuries, the Blazers should feel considerably more confident entering the season than they have been in past years. Marcus Camby, who at 36 is still the best rebounder in the league, is a perfect complement to power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who Blazers fan are hoping will finally escape from the 17.8-18.1 points per game range and the 7.5-8.1 rebounds per game range. Aldridge still has a great deal of untapped potential, and if he doesn’t start to exercise it, Blazers fan could grow very frustrated. Oden will prove to be something of a godsend when healthy even if he doesn’t put up monster numbers, as the Blazers’ brass has learned not to put too much faith in him.
Despite their lack of depth down low, the Blazers still fall under the category of teams that no one will ever look forward to playing. Equipped with a smart, seasoned point guard, an outstanding shooting guard (just ask Kobe Bryant), and a trio of very long and active big men, the Blazers are arguably the league’s best coached team as well, as evidenced by the success Nate McMillan has enjoyed despite guiding a squad that seems to be battling a never ending string of injuries. Even with the expectations that they will again struggle with injuries at some point, fans can take solace in knowing that they have a great leader at the helm.
Even if the Blazers should stay entirely healthy, though, they might not be dynamic enough to be as great as they aspire to be. Even with an active Oden they’re incredibly shallow down low and they have a question mark at the swing even though Batum is the entrenched starter; in terms of a backup at the point, they might have to count on rookie Armon Johnson after losing both Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless. Another playoff appearance is all but assured, but their ceiling is simply too hard to project.
Predicted Record: 51-31, 3rd in Northwest Division
12 LaMarcus Aldridge F 6-11 Texas
11 Luke Babbitt F 6-9 Nevada-Reno R
88 Nicolas Batum F 6-8 Lisieux, France
21 Marcus Camby C-F 6-11 Massachusetts
33 Dante Cunningham F 6-8 Villanova
5 Rudy Fernandez G 6-6 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1 Armon Johnson G 6-3 Nevada-Reno R
2 Wesley Matthews G 6-5 Marquette
24 Andre Miller G 6-2 Utah
8 Patrick Mills G 6-0 St. Mary's (CA)
52 Greg Oden C 7-0 Ohio State
10 Joel Przybilla C 7-1 Minnesota
7 Brandon Roy G 6-6 Washington
9 Elliot Williams G 6-5 Memphis R
21 Fabricio Oberto C 6-10 Las Varillas, Argentina
