Portland Trail Blazers preview by Dave Deckard
1. What can the Trail Blazers learn from the 2006-07 season to help them improve their 2007-08 campaign?
The biggest lesson is that things can get better as long as you believe in your teammates and work hard. It sounds hokey, but you have to remember that this team spent the last five years feeding the ball to Zach Randolph and watching, which required neither hard work nor trust. When Zach went down with injuries last year the game immediately opened up for the Blazers. They demonstrated more passing, more movement, more communication and help on defense, and more energy overall. This caused coach Nate McMillan to exclaim, "Finally we’re playing the right way!" With Greg Oden out for the season, the temptation of making him the next crutch will be removed. If the Blazers are going to compete they will have to draw on the lessons they learned last season and start playing hard and together.
2. What was the Blazers' best and/or worst move during the offseason, either by free agency, trade, or draft?
This will be hotly debated for years. There are two candidates. One was drafting Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. Right now it looks like the wrong move. but neither Portland nor the Seattle SuperSonics (Durant’s new team) will be judged by what happens this year. If Oden recovers from microfracture surgery and goes on to become a dominant center it will be their best move by far. If he comes up lame for most of his career it will be considered among the franchise's worst moves not just of this offseason, but of all-time. Equally open to second guessing was the decision to ship Zach Randolph to the New York Knicks for a bought-out Steve Francis, a suddenly desperately needed Channing Frye, and a trade exception, which became small forward James Jones. In many ways this was addition by subtraction. In no way was Randolph good for this team. In the long run he may not be good for any team. But the man does score points and grab offensive rebounds, which may both be in short supply this season for the Blazers. In the short term this may look like a bad move, especially since Zach - like most newly-traded players - is likely to be on his best behavior with his new team for a while. Again the long run will tell the real story, whatever that may be. It could be the smartest move ever or a total gaffe.
3. Who is the Most Important Player on the Blazers? The MIP is not necessarily the most talented, but the one that makes the biggest difference in his TEAM doing well each game.
The most important player on the team this year was always going to be LaMarcus Aldridge, even had Greg Oden stayed healthy. Even though Oden grabs more attention for just existing and Brandon Roy also falls above him on the publicity scale for winning Rookie of the Year, Lamarcus is the Blazer who has taken the biggest strides in the offseason. He has an amazing body. He has great quickness for a 6'10" player (often credibly guarding opposing wings near the three-point line last season). He has an array of offensive moves from the post out to near three-point distance. Most importantly of all, he has shown heart, dedication, and the desire to become great. He will be the leading scorer for the team this year and probably for years to come and he has vowed that his prime goal is to become as versatile on defense as he is on offense. Without Lamarcus this year the ship sinks entirely. With Lamarcus and Greg Oden in years to come the Blazers are going to sport a very scary frontcourt, especially on the defensive end.
4. What needs to go right for the Blazers to succeed this coming season?
This depends on your definition of success. If you’re looking for playoffs, the Blazers won’t make it, not with Oden laid up. Their wins will probably total in the 30’s, low being disappointing and high being worthy of celebration. This is the season to determine who will step up and what kind of game they’re going to build around. To that end the signs of success would be:
- Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy becoming consistent, dependable volume scorers.
- The team developing a coherent style of play based on hard work in the defense and rebounding departments leading to running opportunities. They also need to establish a fluid, passing-oriented motion offense when they can’t run. These traits will take advantage of the talents and skills of their players far more than the "set it and forget it" offenses of the past.
- Sorting out the jumble at small forward between Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, and James Jones and also finding a dependable point guard for the future among Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez, and Taurean Green. Should one of those positions come up empty despite all the players that would become the immediate target for future draft picks and the impending cap space in 2009. Without getting a handle on who they have at those positions the Blazers will not be able to utilize those future assets effectively.
5. Who are the contenders for the NBA Championship and who do you see taking the title?
To tell you the truth, I’m not ready to pick yet. The list of contenders is obvious: Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, perhaps Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors with an outside shot in the East. The Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, and the Dallas Mavericks in the West with a couple of real darkhorses like a healthy Los Angeles Clippers team or a lucky Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz club. I’m not comfortable picking two from that group without getting a better feel for how the preseason goes.
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