Portland Trailblazers: Contender or Pretender?

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

I just finished reading an online article where the author divined that the Blazers would finish fifth in the Western Conference this season, behind the Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, and Rockets.

Fifth? Really? 

Didn't the younger version of this team, minus Miller, Webster, Pendergraph and Cunningham, just tie Denver for second place in the Western Conference last season? Fifth seemed a bit low to me.

The reality is that the Spurs got better this Summer. Already blessed with talented players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, San Antonio picked up two meaningful players in Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess.

Jefferson, although a bit streaky as an offensive player, is a tough and gritty presence. He, in particular, makes the Spurs better. In fact, some have suggested that San Antonio, not Los Angeles, is the preseason favorite to emerge from the West this year.

Denver didn't do much, at least in terms of adding real net value to their team. However, it's likely that they will marginally eclipse their season win total of 54 from last year, primarily because they didn't acquire Chauncey Billups until Nov. 3.

Houston will have a new look. Yao's injury and recent surgery to his foot will keep him sidelined for at least the 2009 season. Ron Artest is gone and in his place is the younger Trevor Ariza.

The Lakers need to and probably will sign Lamar Odom. If they do, they have to be considered the favorites once again. It doesn't appear that they have done anything to improve themselves, although some would argue that Artest is an improvement over Ariza.

The Portland Trailblazers are the wild card in the West. They have made significant upgrades over last seasons 54-win squad. Andre Miller was brought in as their sole free agent signing, Jeff Pendregraph and Dante Cunningham were drafted early in the second round, and both show promise of earning playing time.

Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum should improve simply by virtue of losing their rookie tags, and Greg Oden has received particular attention by the Blazer staff in Ohio this Summer.

It remains to be seen how much Andre Miller will improve this team. He's not really a Steve Blake upgrade as some have suggested. Portland still has Blake. In terms of what the team picks up, Miller is a net gain over Rodriguez. That's a significant gain.

Miller is a very good offensive player and makes everyone else around him better as well. He's a throwback from another time, when point guards knew how to pass first and score when necessary. His defense is adequate and his leadership skills and basketball IQ are second-to-none.

Miller is also very durable and will run when the break is there. As a result, Portland should score slightly more than they did last year. A good shooter from about 16 feet in, his three-point shooting is abysmal. If not for the return of Martell Webster and the presumed improvement by Batum, this would be a problem. As it is, it shouldn't be an issue.

Cunningham and Pendergraph both impressed the coaching staff during the Las Vegas Summer League...So much so that Kevin Pritchard has indicated that both players will receive contracts.

How much playing time they get on a team that is now a legit 13 deep is another question At least, the Blazers are hopeful that the two rookies will add a layer of toughness to a team who got bullied out of the first round of the playoffs last year by a much more physical Houston.

The bigger questions center around Oden. Maligned much of the last two years by the press and fans (mostly by Laker fans for whatever reason), he seems determined to prove himself this year.

He dropped a summer class at Ohio State University in order to focus on improving his game. Coach Bill Bayno along with former Blazer, Brian Grant, have been working with him.

Reports coming back from Columbus have been very positive. His knee seems to finally be healed and his lateral movement and footwork are greatly improved.

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