West dominates first NBA power rankings but Blazers only ranked 8th

Nah, it's fair; we ended up 8th or so last year, and didn't make huge draft/FA improvements... let us be underrated and get up to 4th by the end.

 

I think they meant got smoked defensively, not got blown out of the series. Defense is definitely the thing that will keep the Blazers from contending...offense is very good.

 

Memphis has the most reason to beef.

 

Not to mention the Spurs had a higher margin of victory over both the Heat and the Thunder compared to the Blazers.

 

I could see a spot or two move up or down, but overall about right. Blake and Kaman aren't big moves. If no other moves are made I predict 50-54 wins

 

6th in the West. We finished 5th in the West last year. I'm not upset.

 

Yeah I think we will jump Dallas, Cleveland, Chicago, and Golden State. But I prefer to be lower to start out. We play best as under dogs.

On a side note I think Denver at 22 is way too low.

 

I thought the ranking was fair. Blazers played out of their minds during the first half of the season and won a series that could have gone either way.

Kaman and Blake could end up surprising the league, but I think/hope what is more likely going to surprise is the development of some young players. If not, could be a step back in overall record for the Blazers.

Am really hoping to take a step forward this this season, but I unfortunatley don't see it. Maybe if Lillard's comes in with intense defense, it would jump this team up.

 

The only thing that matters is where they end up at the end of the season.

 

No complaints overall since this stuff doesn't mean squat anyway. I think bumping the Warriors up that high is silly given the only major change is the acquisition of Livingston. With his knees, counting on him to move the needle seems a bit precarious. On paper, the Mavs did a major upgrade with Parsons & Chandler. It remains to be seen how that works out on the court, but I won't complain about them being ranked there at this point.

The moves the Blazers made weren't splashy, so you wouldn't expect much media attention. That said, I think Blake and Kaman are going to make a significant difference that most people nationwide, and here, are underestimating. The Blazers starters played competitively with everybody last season. It was the nosedive when the bench came in that cost a bunch of losses. Mo really didn't fit Stotts' system very well and probably cost as many wins as he did occasionally help avoid losses. Kaman and Blake both know how to play and will mesh well with what Stotts wants to do, both offensive and defensively. Add to that the improvement of CJ, Will & Robinson and I think that the Blazer will have a very solid second unit that won't lose big leads.

I couldn't care less about pre-season accolades. As much as is possible for a team coming off of a 54-win season, I want the Blazers to be NBA ninjas and smack the league by surprise.

 

I think Portland's defense did get smoked...they just scored enough to win anyway. Neither team's defense could stop the other team.

And the Rockets are ranked behind Portland, so I don't think there's any injustice there.

 

I thought the HOU series was about the only time we played good defense last season. It wasn't terrific, but it was better than nearly everything we saw in the regular season. So the main thrust of the argument is valid (we were a bad defensive team), but the example the author used to support that assertion was piss poor. Wes did an amazing job on Harden, and I thought it was a decent strategy to let Howard get his early in single-coverage and then just wear him out as the game dragged on.

 

I don't get the love affair with the Warriors. They were ranked above us going into last season too.

I also don't think Dallas is that much better. I think they got worse at point guard. They lost Vince Carter, Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, and I think Shawn Marion is out the door as well.

They added Ray Felton, Tyson Chandler, and Chandler Parsons. I'm just really not that impressed. The team is still older than dirt. Extremely fragile. I would be surprised if they finish above us.

 

I like what Dallas did this summer. I agree with the short analysis that a lot has to do with Chandler's ability to stay healthy, but can't fault Dallas for fear of making moves. It's like Cuban plays his own fantasy basketball, only in real life.

 

The Warriors are volatile. With good health, they're really good. With key injuries, they're not so good. And they have guys who are injury-prone. The rankings seem to be predicated on the optimistic possibility.

 

They somehow managed to stay older than dirt. Dallas added:

Richard Jefferson 34 years old
Tyson Chandler 31 years old
Rashard Lewis 34 years old
Chandler Parsons 25 years old
Raymond Felton 30 years old

Compared to:
Jose Calderon 32 years old
Shawn Marion 36 years old
Vince Carter 37 years old
Dajuan Blaire 25 years old
Samuel Dalembert 32 years old

The fact that they replaced Calderon, Marion, Carter, and Dalembert with Jefferson, Parsons, Felton, and Chandler doesn't really inspire a lot of hope in my eyes. Dirk is a year older. I just don't know. They were on the verge of not making the playoffs last year. At best, I think they're back in that 7th or 8th spot.