Win Or (Likely) Lose, The Trail Blazers Had A Heck Of A Season

Email to a friend Permalink

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Wade Evanson, Oregon Sports News

The season is over.  The Blazers are going to lose.

You knew that, right?  Tell me you knew that?  Because it wasn’t a fluke that Golden State won 73 games this season. It wasn’t a fluke that they won last year’s NBA Championship.  And it’s not a coincidence that they have 3 All-Star players and will likely finish with 2 players in the top-5 in this year’s MVP voting.  They’re a great team bordering on historic, and even without their best player, they’ll likely travel back to Oakland next Monday night with the second round of this NBA playoffs squarely in their rearview mirror.

And that’s fine.

The Portland Trail Blazers weren’t supposed to be here. In fact, they weren’t supposed to be in the playoffs at all.

This year’s squad – which by now you’ve heard replaced 4 starters – was predicted by most to win fewer than 30 games. I didn’t think they’d win much more than 20.  But CJ McCollum got a s**t-ton better, the newly acquired youth played with a purpose, and Damian Lillard proved to be the leader LaMarcus Aldridge was never going to be.  As a result, you and I were treated to a season’s worth of exciting and entertaining basketball, culminating with an unexpected trip to the playoffs, an equally unexpected trip to the second round, and more importantly, future expectations for a franchise with a foundation in which to build upon.

This isn’t a group in its prime.  Nor is it fraught with aging veterans in or beyond their peak performance. This is a group whose best players are getting better, whose talent is young and impressionable, and whose destiny will be decided by the necessary moves to unlock its future potential.  The former which lies in the hands of the players, while the latter is dependent on Neil Olshey’s foresight and ability to make it a reality.

I don’t know what they need.  Could they use a stretch-4 who’d provide an outside threat and clear the paint for wings slashing to the hoop?  Sure.  Would they benefit from a big-man who could not only play with the energy of a Mason Plumlee, but also provide a back-to-the-basket game worthy of the defense’s attention?  Uh huh.  And would an additional offensive threat minimize the burden heaped upon CJ and Dame, creating a more complicated problem for opposing teams and coaches?  Yep, but how you’d prioritize them and more difficultly, how you’d acquire them is left up to the front office who to this point has proven up to the task.

I’d love to see Portland win a game or two, and admit to thinking it possible before last Sunday’s Game-1.  But this isn’t March Madness, a college football rivalry game, or the NHL playoffs where a hot goalie can take you all the way to a Stanley Cup.  This is the NBA playoffs, where the best team almost always wins, the best players almost always dominate, and David never beats Goliath.  

It’s over Portland, and in this case that has to be alright.

Related Articles

• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – Dec. 9
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – Feb. 2
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 4/6
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 3/4
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 3/24
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 3/30
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – Feb. 25
• Portland Trail Blazers Weekend Preview & Predictions – 1/30
• Portland Trail Blazers’ Playoff Heat Check: January Edition
• Should The Portland Trail Blazers Trade CJ McCollum?
• Portland Trail Blazers’ Frenzied Offseason Has Been Part of the Plan All Along
• Portland Trail Blazers’ Aminu to Participate in First NBA Game in Africa
• Portland Trail Blazers’ Salary Commitments
• Portland Trail Blazers-Inspired Adult Beverages That Should Exist In Rip City
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 3/16
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 3/10
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 2/25
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 2/3
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 12/8
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 12/1
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 11/17
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 11/25
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 2/9
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview - Jan. 12
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 12/1
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – 2/2
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview And Predictions – 3/8
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview And Predictions – 3/2
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview - Nov. 24
• Should The Trail Blazers Retire Brandon Roy’s Number?
• So Far, Odds Makers Not Betting On Trail Blazers
• Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – End Of The Regular Season
• Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard Releases New Rap Song
• Trail Blazers vs. Lakers: Why Friday’s Game is So Important
• Trail Blazers Roundtable: Impact, Injuries, Predictions, and Paychecks
• Trail Blazers Preview & Prediction – Sacramento Kings, March 28
• Trail Blazers Preview: Three Upcoming Games
• Trail Blazers’ Success Can Only Be Gauged by the Playoffs
• What Merits a Retired Number For the Portland Trail Blazers?
• Why The Trail Blazers Should Retire Jerome Kersey’s Number 25
• Will The Portland Trail Blazers Have a ‘Top Ten Defense’ This Season?
• Who Will Be the Next Portland Trail Blazers Villain?
• Which Young Bench Player For The Portland Trail Blazers Will Step Up?
• What The Portland Trail Blazers Can Learn From The NBA Finals
• What’s Next for the Portland Trail Blazers
• Trail Blazers Power Forward Meyers Leonard Gets Hitched
• Trail Blazers Mid-season Review
• The Trail Blazers Set Their Sights On 2 Players
• The Trail Blazers’ Lost Weekend
• The Trail Blazers Make A Series Of Trades On Draft Night
• The Portland Trail Blazers Begin Summer League Play This Weekend
• Synergy Over Seeding For The Trail Blazers Down the Home Stretch
• The Best and Worst Drafts in Trail Blazers History
• The Trail Blazers’ Offseason Plans
• Three Questions for the Portland Trail Blazers
• Trail Blazers Confirm Allen Crabbe’s Spot on Roster
• Trail Blazers Great Jerome Kersey Dies at 52
• Trail Blazers C.J. McCollum Predicted to be Most Improved of 2015-16
• Trail Blazers Bulk Up Frontline By Signing Ed Davis
• Trail Blazers Acquire Anderson Varejão in 3 Team Trade
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 10/26
• Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview & Predictions – 1/5
• It’s Time For The Portland Trail Blazers To Commit To Terry Stotts
• Kobe Bryant’s Retirement Puts To Rest Trail Blazers’ Dead Rivalry With Lakers
• Inner Struggle: Should the Portland Trail Blazers Try to Make the Playoffs?
• How to React When Ex-Trail Blazers Come Back to Play Against Portland
• How Game 3 Will Prepare The Portland Trail Blazers For Game 4
• How the NFL Can Learn From the Portland Trail Blazers
• LaMarcus Aldridge Likely Leaving the Portland Trail Blazers
• Meet The New Trail Blazers: Gerald Henderson And Noah Vonleh
• Hank Stern: 10 Questions for the Trail Blazers
• Al-Farouq Aminu Has Been Perfect Nicolas Batum Replacement For Trail Blazers
• CJ McCollum’s Progress May Be The Silver Lining Trail Blazers Fans Are Looking For
• NEW: What Oregon and Ohio State Can Teach the Trail Blazers
• No Whining for Trail Blazers Fans
• NEW: Trail Blazers’ C.J. McCollum Named NBA’s Most Improved Player
• NEW: Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview – Dec. 15
• Neil Olshey, Portland Trail Blazers Won’t Talk ‘Playoffs, Lottery’
• NEW: Portland Trail Blazers Week Preview - Jan. 5

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink