SDH's 2012/2013 NBA Worst to First Previews & Predictions: 27. Portland Trailblazers

Portland Trailblazers Overall Win/Loss Record :  28-38, fourth place Northwest Division	Last Season’s Rank 21	Projected 2012/2013 Finish 27
Last season’s Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 97.2 (16th) Points Allowed: 97.8 (18th) Team FG%: .443 (17th) Opponent’s FG%: .463 (26th) Rebounds per game: 40.7 (25th) Opponents rebounds per game: 42.3 (18th)	Returning Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring: LaMarcus Aldridge (21.7) Rebounds per game:  LaMarcus Aldridge (8.0) Minutes per game: LaMarcus Aldridge (36.3) Assists per game: LaMarcus Aldridge (2.4) Steals per game:  Wesley Matthews (1.5) Blocked Shots per game:  Nicolas Batum (1.0)
Projected Starters Based on Last Season’s Performance, Veteran Seniority and Projected Impact C: LaMarcus Aldridge PF: JJ Hickson SF: Nicolas Batum SG: Wesley Matthews PG: Damian Lillard	Key Reserves Based on Last Season’s Performances, Veteran Seniority and Potential Impact. Meyers Leonard (C), Elliot Williams (G), Ronnie Price (PG), Jared Jeffries (F/C), Sasha Pavlovic (G/F)
2012/2013 Projection:  20-62, last in Northwest Division, on the long hard road to rebuilding Analysis: After four years of false promises and broken dreams, the Portland Trailblazers have gone a middle of the pack playoff team that went nowhere to back to square one. Gone are stars of the future such as Brandon Roy as he was forced to retire due to nagging injuries.  All the rest of that Blazers team that showed so much potential but fell flat were traded, let go or simply just faded away.  Now all who remains of that team is big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who now leads a Blazers team heading the complete opposite direction from his earlier years with the team: straight down.  The Blazers have crashed back down to square one and will have to regroup and rebuild to return on the road back to respectability. Portland will surely have a tough road ahead of them as there has been a complete shift in the Western Conference Landscape.  Their division has gotten even tougher as opponents who were once thought of as pushovers have now surpassed them.  The Minnesota Timberwolves made humungous strides in improving the roster by first signing one of the best defensive swing men in the league in Andrei Kirilenko.  The Wolves also brought over a familiar face to Blazer fans on their roster as well—the once formerly retired Brandon Roy.  Once considered an unfortunate castaway, Roy has return to show his doubters that he still has some game left—and guess who will be the team that he will most enjoy showing that to. The Blazers on the other hand do not nearly have the firepower or talent to compete in this heavily competitive Western Conference.  Save for their star player LaMarcus Aldridge and up and coming French player Nicolas Batum who had recently signed a five year extension, there is little else to speak of on that roster.  The Blazers have no real point guard after letting go of  last season’s starter, Raymond Felton, and all Portland has are rookies to replace him.  In terms of depth in the second unit, the roster is kiddie pool shallow consisting of the who’s who of who cares.   With a roster such as this, it is very difficult to expect much from the Blazers as they are headed in the first year of a very long rebuilding period. Such a rebuilding period will not be desirable to the team’s veteran core, especially to the Blazers’ go to man, LaMarcus Aldridge.  It is doubtful that such a talented player will want to spend the peak years of his career wasted on a team headed for rock bottom.  Portland’s front office may certainly want to consider trading its prized All Star for young prospects, future draft picks, or salary cap space.  It will be better to do that sooner than later rather than deal with a potential malcontent who can ruin team chemistry and poison team morale causing friction and discord.  The sad fact of the matter is that Aldridge’s presence, no matter how strong, will just hold the Blazers back from moving forward and to part ways with him may be the best current option. So, Portland fans, do not expect you team to head to the post-season this season or any other for quite a long time.  With the current state the NBA is right now, it will be quite a well before your home team will climb back to its middle of the pack status.  Once they have managed to return to playoff contention and attain respectability, do not expect any more than that.  The Blazers will never be championship contenders, not with the way the current NBA financial system is constructed—focused on bigger more popular markets while ignoring the smaller ones.  Until league officials, team owners, and players can agree on a more just salary cap structure, team such as the Blazers will continue to reach only so far.