It's no secret in Rip City that LaMarcus Aldridge wants to win, and he wants to win now. After a brief back and forth with Neil Olshey this past summer (although he may refuse to admit it), Aldridge has seemingly become comfortable sporting the black and red for another year. By way of some notable free agent acquisitions (Mo Williams, Dorrel Wright) and two trades that netted a decent center and yet another 2012 lottery pick for the Blazers (Robin Lopez and Thomas Robinson, respectively), Olshey has built a core group of guys that should complement each other very well for 82 games, and hopefully more.
Question is, just how far can these Blazers go this year?
The story lines are there: reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard begins a highly anticipated second year and is quickly becoming a star, Nic Batum either lives up to the money Portland has devoted to him or makes management look dumb for not shipping him to Minnesota, Wesley Matthews might finally shed the "streaky shooter" label and dominate from beyond the arc, and LaMarcus Aldrdige is on the verge of solidifying himself as, arguably, the best power forward in basketball.
Problem is, there are nearly two handfuls of teams in the West embarking on these similar paths as they vie for one of the eight postseason spots; needless to say, the Western Conference is jam packed with talent.
Through 7 games, Portland is 5-2, and in the "way too early" edition of a playoff picture, sit at 4th in the West. The loss to Phoenix to open the year stung. The loss to Houston last week? Understandable. Where Portland can really hang their hat is that they are the only team (I remind you, the season is just two weeks old) to blemish the record of San Antonio, and they put up 115 points against the Spurs' stout defense, no less. Two of their five wins have come against the Sacramento Kings, who themselves have just one win to their credit, so it's hard to really validate Portland as a contender in the West.
Consistency is key, and with what was seen with last year's version of this team, it's a long season that get's harder as you move in to March and April. This year's difference is easily the depth of the bench players. No longer are guys like Luke Babbitt, Ronnie Price, Nolan Smith, or Sasha Pavlovic coming off the bench for the Blazers. Now we see Mo Williams, Thomas Robinson, Dorell Wright, and a much improved Joel Freeland anchoring Portland's second five. The quality of that bench far exceeds anything Portland experienced last year, and should provide plenty of relief minutes for Aldridge, Lillard, Batum and Matthews down the stretch of the season.
With this kind of talent abound, it might not be long before they're able to distance themselves from the bottom half of the Western Conference and work towards not only securing a playoff spot, but getting past that pesky first round of the playoffs.
This week, Portland will be tested by the Phoenix Suns (who've already bested Portland this year and always seem to have their number), the Boston Celtics (they've had a rough start, but winners of 4 straight), and the Toronto Raptors (who allow just the 4th lowest points per game in the NBA).
It might no longer be a question of star power in Portland, but rather, how the other pieces work alongside that star power that will determine just how far this team can go. For now, at least, Blazers fans can rest assured that the star power isn't going anywhere, so long as that number keeps rising in the win column.
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