SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 13. Portland Trailblazers

+Portland Trail Blazers  Overall Win/Loss Record :  33-49,  fourth place Northwest Division	Last Season’s Rank 20	Projected 2013/2014 Finish 13
Last season’s Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 97.5 (15th) Points Allowed: 100.7 (21st) Team FG%: .448 (16th) Opponent’s FG%: .474 (29th) Team FT%: .776 (8th) Team Three Point FG%: .353 (20th) Rebounds per game: 40.8 (24th) Opponents rebounds per game: 42.4 (17th) Turnovers per game: 14.2 (20th) Opponents turnovers per game: 12.7 (28th)	Returning Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg): +LaMarcus Aldridge  (21.1) Rebounds per game: LaMarcus Aldridge (9.1) Minutes per game: +Damian Lillard  (38.6) Assists per game:  Damian Lillard (6.5) Field Goal Percentage: Meyers Leonard (.545) Free Throw Percentage: +Nicolas Batum  (.850) Three Point FG Percentage:  Wesley Matthews (.398) Steals per game: Wesley Matthews (1.3) Blocked Shots per game:  LaMarcus Aldridge (1.2)
Projected Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact: C. Robin Lopez PF. LaMarcus Aldridge SF. Nicolas Batum SG. Wesley Matthews PG. Damian Lillard	Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact: G. Mo Williams G/F. Dorell Wright F. Thomas Robinson C. Meyers Leonard G. Earl Watson
Analysis: Last season many expected the Portland Trailblazers to tank as they had gotten rid of all their veterans from last season and were looking to rebuild; however, that all changed when a rookie point guard and virtual nobody stepped on the court dramatically and almost single handily change the team's fortunes.  Damian Lillard took a team that had been reeling from injuries and sheer bag luck and turned it into a competitive one that managed to stay in the playoff race until almost the very end.  Had the Blazers played with more than a third of a team, they would have probably made it to the post season, but they were marred by having the worst producing bench in the league.  Their almost invisible second unit literally led the Blazers' starting five to simply burn out in the end and them team was fortunate that none of their starters had been injured because of them logging so many minutes.  Considering that this rather shorthanded team managed to win more than 30 games despite allowing .478 shooting from their opponents and got out rebounded by a +2 margin, it amazing to think that the Blazres were even able to stay competitive let alone contend for a playoff spot.    To illustrate how run down the Blazers starting five were, all you need to see is the percentage of the minutes played along with the percentage of the points scored. The starters played approximately 74 percent of the game averaging nearly 36 minutes per game per player while at the same time they scored 81.9 of the 97.5 points per game and took 61.9 of the 81.9 shot attempts per game over the course of the season. On the other hand, the bench averaged a paltry 12.6 minutes per game per players and only offered an average of 3.4 points per game per player while at the same time shot a brutal field goal percentage of .381 as an entire unit.  With such a huge overload on the starters' shoulders, it was not surprising that one only of them managed to play all 82 games in the regular season and ironically it was the same player who had held the Blazers from crashed--Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard. This season, however, the teams has addressed their issues concerning the roster's depth last season and turned the Blazers from a team that was struggling just to hang on to not only one of the league's deepest team, but also one with a shot of challenging for the Northwest Division Title. The Blazers worked feverishly during the off season to address their needs to bolster their roster and they succeeded grandly by acquiring low cost but high producing veterans to support their talented, but beleaguered starters.  They first acquired center Robin Lopez in a draft day trade with the +New Orleans Pelicans providing the team with a young big man whose has a string penchant for defense and protecting the rim.  Last season Lopez had his best season with New Orleans as he posted a career high in scoring 11.3 points per game while grabbing nearly six boards and blocking two shots per game in just 26 minutes of playing time.  So far in training he has brought an infectious attitude towards defense which has thus far inspired his teammates to match his same intensity during practice and the hope is that paired with LaMarcus Aldridge in the front court, Lopez will provide a soil one two punch in the paint with Aldridge pumping in the points on offense with him achoring the paint in defense.  In addition to Lopez, the Blazers futher bolstered the front court acquiring Thomas Robinson, a talented young big man who was selected five overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, but never had a chance to proving himself due to being being on a dysfunctional +Sacramento Kings team last season and not getting much playing time last season. The Blazers hope that Robinson will provide the team the blue collar grit that they lost after they let go off last season's leading rebounder +JJ Hickson as he was allowed to leave as an unrestricted free agent and later signed with the +Denver Nuggets. The prospect watching him pair up with Meyer's Leonard, the Blazers' first round pick from last season and a seven footer who provided his team with a solid rookie campaign averaging six points and four boards per game in just 17.5 of playing time, can make any Portland fan's mouth water in anticipation.  The same can be said for the other off season additions in established veterans Mo Williams, Dorell Wright, and Earl Watson who provide the Blazers with more offensive firepower and perimeter defensive presence that the team, fans and city have not seen the likes of for quite some time.  Williams is a career 14 point, five assist, and one steal per player who has shot nearly .400 from the arc during his 10 years in the league while Wright has averaged around nine points, four rebounds and two assists per game in his 9 year career and has not reached 30 yet. Add Watson's maturity and veteran savvy at the point guard position, the Blazers' situation has changed from not having adequate depth in on their roster to having simply too much depth which probably suits head coach Terry Stotts just fine as he will have so many weapons in his arsenal once the season begins.   Altogether the Blazers not only will have a team that will only make the playoffs, but also challenge the status quo of not only their own Northwest Division, but also the Western Conference as well.  They'll be entering the season in a division with a short handed +Oklahoma City Thunder who lost much of their offensive firepower with the departure of their top scorer off the bench, Kevin Martin, as he left for the +Minnesota Timberwolves and an injured +Russell Westbrook who will probably not play until mid December or January at the earliest.  They'll also be facing a Denver Nuggets team that does not hold a candle to the same team that won a franchise record 57 games last season and looks to be heading towards a downwards spiral as they have no real go to player and the overall makeup of that team consists of average players at best.  What was once though of as a team that looked as if it was heading for a major crash and burn following by a long and arduous rebuilding period looked to have bounced back to playoff contention within a year.  It is all thanks to a player that had come from a rather low key school and arose to become one of the future young stars in the league and with a team like this behind him, it is certain that Portland will be among the west's elite for some time to come.