Last season, the Blazers tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the Northwest Division, 54-28. They then gave back all the hard work in the first game of the playoffs, getting rolled up at home by Utah. Once that game was over, they quickly showed they had what it took to win in the playoffs at home and competed in almost every road game but never broke through and ended their season early and in disappointing fashion.
Yes, a team that most observers last preseason thought were still a season away from playoff contention found disappointment in exiting in the first round.
They then went out and got significantly better in several ways.
First, they upgraded at their weakest position, point guard. Gone is inconsistent, disgruntled Sergio Rodriguez. He's replaced by the durable and skilled Andre Miller. Secondly, gone is erratic good guy Channing Frye, and in his place is the steady Juwan Howard.
But it was not just free agents that changed the face of this team. Another year of experience has turned this team from young, hungry and talented into battle-tested, hungry and talented. Aside from that, they are essentially getting two guys back from injury.
The first is Martell Webster. He is an under-rated defender and lights-out shooter. He could have provided the offensive spark the Blazers sorely needed against the Rockets. While he is not as good defensively as Niclolas Batum, he usually does a creditable job.
Second, they get back from injury a guy who played in 61 games last year. But none of those games were at full strength. It is well known that microfracture surgery slows guys down for nearly a full year after their return, as Kenyon Martin, Amar'e Stoudemire, and others can attest. So welcome back, Greg Oden.
Gone is the hulking mass of muscle that was Oden last year and in its place is a quick, agile guy who moves his feet, has good lateral quickness, has shown explosive leaping ability and excellent timing.
This is a guy who will defend the paint, clean the glass, and has shown some rapid improvement offensively. He turns the center position from above average defensively but non-factor on offense into decent offensively with the potential to be spectacular defensively.
Adding Oden, Webster, Howard, and Miller to a roster that earned 54 wins last season shouts potential. This is a team that has everything it needs to win and win now.
The starting lineup looked set until Nicolas Batum went down with a shoulder injury. Fortunately, this team is so deep that his absence until possibly February should not slow this team down at all...and might even help it.
The 18 or so minutes he played last year will be taken up by Webster and possibly allow a few more minutes for Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez.
Now the starting lineup will probably see Oden at Center, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward, Webster at the 3, Brandon Roy at shooting guard, and Steve Blake at the point.
This is a team that has great interior defense and suspect perimeter guarding skills. At the other end of the court, with Blake and Webster manning the three-point line, teams will have to pick their poison. Do they want to double team Aldridge on the block or let him wreck their interior? Oden is a threat to throw down some ferocious dunks off offensive boards.
Alternatively, they can double Aldridge and Oden, only to see Webster and Blake kill them from distance. All of this does not even take into account Roy, the best offensive player the Blazers have.
There is not much of a let-down off the bench, either.
Joel Przybilla is not going to score much, but he will block shots, rebound, and generally provide a physical presence.
Juwan Howard will play in short stret
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