#19 – Portland Trail Blazers
2011/12 Record: 28-38, no playoffs
2012/13 Projected Record: 38-44, no playoffs
Key Additions:
Damian Lillard – Point Guard
Meyers Leonard – Center
Jared Jeffries – Power Forward
Key Departures:
Raymond Felton – Point Guard
Jamal Crawford – Shooting Guard
Kurt Thomas – Center
Depth Chart:
Point Guard: Damian Lillard, Nolan Smith
Shooting Guard: Wesley Matthews, Sasha Pavlovic
Small Forward: Nicolas Batum, Luke Babbitt
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge, Jared Jeffries
Center: J.J. Hickson, Meyers Leonard
The X Factors:
Damian Lillard & Meyers Leonard
The Blazers are a very young team which is going to pose problems in the wild Western Conference. The team’s two lottery picks need to become immediate factors if Portland has any hope of sniffing a playoff spot (which is probably a long shot as it is).
Summary:
It’s probably going to be a rough year in The City of Roses (and we are already second-guessing ranking the Blazers as high as we have in our NBA Power Rankings). LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews are legit, but after that this is a roster full of question marks. But at least they are young, highly touted question marks.
NBA Preseason Power Rankings
#20 – Milwaukee Bucks
#21 – Cleveland Cavaliers
#22 – New Orleans Hornets
#23 – Washington Wizards
#24 – Toronto Raptors
#25 – Sacramento Kings
#26 – Phoenix Suns
#27 – Houston Rockets
#28 – Detroit Pistons
#29 – Orlando Magic
#30 – Charlotte Bobcats
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