twice now I've predicted 33 wins and 1th seed...but I've been called super-negative. Funny thing is that in the last 2 pages, I've seen 10 people predict fewer wins and 3 predict more. I guess the super-negative side of the stadium is sold out I see that a lot of people are gauging pre-season and revising their predictions downward accordingly. I get why they are doing it but the way Chauncey handled rotations it's hard for me to judge much about the team. How many minutes did the expected rotation and expected starters play together? I think Portland semi-wasted the pre-season They'll probably win less than 33, but I'll stay with that guess. I don't think Billups is a good coach so I'd think the chances he gets the team to over-achieve are small
24 wins 14th in west west is full of strong teams, we’re super young and inexperienced, I don’t think Billups is a good coach, and I think some vet guys will be moved later for more rebuilding assets. That said, I think we’ll play hard and be competitive even as we’re losing . Learning year.
This Blazers roster has some good veteran talent more so than typical of such a rebuilding squad. That's why initially I was higher with win projections and even a dark horse run at the playin. However watching the preseason was eye opening just how far away most of these guys are from playing playoff quality basketball. Also our youth hasn't looked as immediately impactful as I had hoped for those upside scenarios. Normally I don't buy much into preseason but in our case the roster was so abstract and hypothetical - preseason gave us the actual only looks we've had of these guys playing together. So it means much more than other years. The bottom of the West is way stronger than other seasons. Wemby looks dominant right now, and there's just really no other tanking teams. I think Houston and Dallas will struggle but they're not tanking. If the Blazers were in the East I'd probably add ~6 or more wins. Still really like our moves this summer and the long term outlook, but it could be a very rough season if your rooting for the Blazers to win. Assume other posters have had similar takeaways to preseason and that's why so many expectations are trending downward.
14th place 27 wins not tanking, just too many teams with much more talent then us. Last year of battling for top 4 pick. Next year we start improving, not contending but improving
30 wins. That's the most wins I can say with a straight face. Is there supposed to be a tiebreaker prediction or anything else?
