Why It’s Now Or Never For The Portland Trail Blazers

by
Former Writers
October 15, 2018

Night Court via Flickr

The Portland Trail Blazers are entering the 2018-19 season hoping to finally take the next step. The Trail Blazers finished the 2017-18 season as the third seed in the western conference. Their playoff run was a short lived one, as they were swept handedly in the first round by the New Orleans Pelicans. With LeBron James now with the Los Angeles Lakers, the west is now even deeper. For the Trail Blazers, it’s now or never to show folks that they can contend with the core they have in place.

The Clock Is Ticking On The Damian Lillard And CJ McCollum Tandem

There’s no doubt when Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are healthy, they’re one of the best backcourt tandems in the NBA. But despite the excitement they bring to the table, it hasn’t resulted in winning yet. The western conference has improved and the Trail Blazers as an unit are pretty much the same. We all know Lillard and McCollum both can score the basketball at will. Their main weakness as a tandem is haven’t shown that they’re looking to make their teammates better.

There’s no secret the Trail Blazers don’t have the best roster from a talent standpoint. They still have solid players in Evan Turner, Al Farouq Aminu, Shabazz Napier, and Jusuf Nurkic. They also drafted big man Zach Collins 10th overall last summer, who’s expected to start over Nurkic.

It’s up to Lillard and McCollum to help elevate the games of their teammates. The clock is indeed ticking on them to make it work. They also had to deal with trade rumors this past off-season about Lillard.

The Trail Blazers decided to hang on to him for now, which wasn’t a surprise. With the window to possibly contend closing, they know this season is now or never. If the Trail Blazers don’t get out of the first round this season, expect trade rumors about Lillard and McCollum to really pick up next summer. Also, don’t be surprised if one of them ends up being moved elsewhere.

Portland Trail Blazers 2018-19 Season Prediction

The Trail Blazers come into the season sort of lost in the shuffle in the western conference. The question for them is this- Where will they finish in the west? With the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, the Lakers, and Oklahoma City Thunder likely having the first four spots.

Spots 5-8 in the west are going to be up for grabs. The Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, the Pelicans, and possibly the Los Angeles Clippers will battle for the 5-8 spots. Lillard and McCollum will both have great regular seasons like usual. They have a roster in place that’s likely to win 45-48 games this season. They’ll open the season on October 18th at home against the Lakers on TNT.