If either Sacramento or Denver wins their next game, Portland will get surpassed for the current #8 playoff spot. That may only be temporary but not exactly the company you want to keep. Even if they maintain the #8 spot, that gets them a matchup with the Golden State Warriors which so far this year has been humiliating in it's outcome.
So what if, like last year, they got hot? Right now, OKC is sitting at #7. If Portland were to go on a 10-game winning streak (which means starting with a win over the Spurs) and if OKC were to continue just to play at the pace they are currently, Portland still would be in the #8 spot just percentage points behind the Thunder.
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That point is mute because in the next 6 games, they play the Spurs twice and the Warriors/Raptors once mixed in with more winnable games against the Kings and Timberwolves.
The Blazers are already 6 games out of the #7 spot just 30 games into the season. That is a massive number for so early in the year. The #7 spot is on pace to get 48 wins this year. Last year the #7 seed finished with 42 wins. Portland would have to go 35-16 the rest of the way to get to 48 wins and that might still only be good enough for 8th place. Even if they move up to 7th, they would be rewarded with the Spurs. Both of those are irrelevant at this point as Portland is at a .419 winning percentage and would need to play .686 to get to 48 wins.
Anyone see that happening anytime soon? We had similar debate last year when Portland was off to such a poor start. The Blazers got hot and then had playoff success which some deemed very valuable. IMO, they overachieved (a good thing) but obviously injuries played a part in the Clippers series as well as being competitive in the Warriors series.
You would have thought they would have progressed from last years late season run and the Playoff success but with almost the same roster, they have significantly regressed. I hate losing games but I hate 'basketball purgatory' even more which is right where I believed Portland was going into last season. That hot streak and Playoff series win now looks like an aberration rather than a continued improvement.
Portland isn't just losing, they are getting blown out more than any other team in the league.
What is even more unfortunate is Dame will be 27 next year and entering the prime of his career. That has something like a 3-5 year window and Portland is no where near being able to take advantage of that.
So will getting torched in the playoffs, if the Warriors/Spurs are healthy, help grow the franchise or would a Lottery pick/asset do more to move this team forward? Right now, Draft Express does not have one single PF or C in their Top 14 projected picks. Of course it is very early but it is mostly PG/SG and SF dominated.
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2017/
The roster is flawed, and performance has regressed. But how did we get from basically the same roster having so much energy, intensity, passion and drive to find a hot streak and some playoff success.....to this?
