The Trail Blazers have had a tale of two seasons already. A first quarter of the season where Portland shot threes at a record-breaking pace, and climbed into the top two of a loaded Western Conference. This magic was followed by a quarter where the bench tapered off and the starters were run ragged into the break. The Portland starters have played more minutes than any other starting five in the NBA, and once again the Blazers rank dead last in the league for bench efficiency.
Now with the All-Star break behind us, we can look into what Portland needs to do to seal a first-round home series to allow Portland to take advantage of its 23-4 record at the Moda Center.
#1: Bench Depth
This was the Blazers biggest issue coming into the year, and despite a promising start continues to be a factor. Mo Williams has done a great job in his first year in Portland and recently C.J. McCollum has turned on the scoring ability that made him the Blazers first-round pick in the 2013 draft. He was certainly an upgrade over the guard trifecta of Earl Watson, Allen Crabbe, and Will Barton.
While McCollum has stepped up, Thomas Robinson and Dorell Wright have stepped back, a dire issue considering they are tasked with allowing LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum to rest. Wright has only played meaningful minutes in two games since January 4th, and has seen his minutes drop significantly from month to month, from 15 minutes per game in November to 12 in December to 9 in January.
Robinson has seen more minutes, but watched his scoring output drop from six points per game in the early season to less than four in January and February. Robinson was rarely counted on for his scoring, but his defensive numbers have dropped as well, creating a large gap in plus/minus when he is replacing Aldridge.
Help is going to be scarce. The Blazers have almost zero tradable assets, limited cap room, and no 2014 first-round pick. One possible trade General Manager Neil Olshey could look at would be to move McCollum, Meyers Leonard, and Earl Watson to Milwaukee for center John Henson and forward Ekpe Udoh. While it would move one of Portland's young rising stars, Henson could take over at the center spot for Robin Lopez, allowing Lopez and Udoh to give help off the bench and extend the Blazers bench depth.
#2 Control the Road Trip
While Portland comes off the break with seven of eight at home, the following five game road trip will be a grueling test through the Western Conference's southern sector. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Memphis along with New Orleans will be a make-or-break point for Portland to secure the fourth spot or higher and keep their home court advantage.
Overall, a .500 record on the road will not cut it the rest of the year, and Portland will need to show it can win away from the Rose City to be a legitimate threat in the Western Conference playoffs.
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