The OFFICIAL 2023-2024 Regular Season Predictions Thread.

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
I think team has rough start. Young inexperienced players who have not played together. Expect flashes of brilliance and a lot of turnovers, botched assignments.
They will improve during the season. I predict a five or six seed.
 
crandc said:
I think team has rough start. Young inexperienced players who have not played together. Expect flashes of brilliance and a lot of turnovers, botched assignments.
They will improve during the season. I predict a five or six seed.
Click to expand...
I actually think we'll come out okay, then hit the wall sometime in January. In March, we'll start sitting vets to see what we want to keep for 24-25 and improve our draft position.
 
e_blazer said:
I like the mix of talent that Cronin has assembled. The team is young and has little experience playing together, but for the first time in forever the roster feels balanced and athletic.
Click to expand...

I guess if you include all 15 players plus the two-way and exhibit-1o there's some roster balance, on paper. But most scrubs remain scrubs for however long their carer is. And the team doesn't play on paper

which is why I think more in terms of rotation, and established players that you can actually, maybe, have a hope of depending on. And when I look at Portland's rotation, I see:

Scoot-Ant-Sharpe-Brogdon-Thybulle

Ayton-Grant-Williams...and then maybe Walker, maybe Knox

so 8 'for-sure' rotational players. And of those 8 players, 5 are 6'5 or under. And the two bigs live in the paint, don't spread the floor with perimeter shooting (or passing), and will seemingly step on each other if they play together. And finally, a PF who rebounds like a SG

that sure doesn't look balanced to me. But I suppose it doesn't really matter because the team, contrary to their chatter, isn't really looking for wins. And it's pretty clearly a work in progress. I'm assuming several of the guys that constitute that paper balance will get their turns to prove their value; and if one or two 'pop', maybe that rotational balance will improve
 
e_blazer said:
I like the mix of talent that Cronin has assembled. The team is young and has little experience playing together, but for the first time in forever the roster feels balanced and athletic. I think in a normal conference environment, where there’s a more even mix of teams that are competitive vs those rebuilding, the Blazers might be able to push .500. But given how crazy stacked the West is, a record something like 33-49 is more likely. I’ll go with that.
Click to expand...

That's exactly where I'm at. This feels like a .500 roster, with players to be excited about at nearly every position, but I have no idea what to expect from our back court. I was hopeful we'd keep Jrue and figure that long-term aspect out on the fly, with a solid playoff push this year, but I know that would have been risky in terms of future assets.
 
wizenheimer said:
I guess if you include all 15 players plus the two-way and exhibit-1o there's some roster balance, on paper. But most scrubs remain scrubs for however long their carer is. And the team doesn't play on paper

which is why I think more in terms of rotation, and established players that you can actually, maybe, have a hope of depending on. And when I look at Portland's rotation, I see:

Scoot-Ant-Sharpe-Brogdon-Thybulle

Ayton-Grant-Williams...and then maybe Walker, maybe Knox

so 8 'for-sure' rotational players. And of those 8 players, 5 are 6'5 or under. And the two bigs live in the paint, don't spread the floor with perimeter shooting (or passing), and will seemingly step on each other if they play together. And finally, a PF who rebounds like a SG

that sure doesn't look balanced to me. But I suppose it doesn't really matter because the team, contrary to their chatter, isn't really looking for wins. And it's pretty clearly a work in progress. I'm assuming several of the guys that constitute that paper balance will get their turns to prove their value; and if one or two 'pop', maybe that rotational balance will improve
Click to expand...

Or perhaps you have an unrealistic expectation regarding team balance? Sure, the Blazers’ roster is a work in progress and relies on young players for depth, but I don’t think you see much more true depth on the contenders’ rosters. Here’s the Nuggets depth chart:

upload_2023-10-3_10-59-28.png

And here’s the Suns’:

upload_2023-10-3_11-1-21.jpeg

Sure, they’re better, but both look pretty patchwork once you get past 8 players or so.
 

Attachments

  • upload_2023-10-3_10-59-28.png
    upload_2023-10-3_10-59-28.png
    378.8 KB · Views: 100
  • upload_2023-10-3_11-1-21.jpeg
    upload_2023-10-3_11-1-21.jpeg
    187.7 KB · Views: 101
kjironman1 said:
Playing for a pick again??? NO FUCKING WAY!
If this team decides to lose on purpose again I will be in front of the MODA every game with a huge sign reading FIRE BILLUPS!
He has a former #1 pick in Deandre Ayton who is putting the entire league on notice. He has a very good veteran in Jerami Grant, He has a player who lillard himself says will be a star in this league in his 5th year as a starting SG in Simons. He has a PG who most say is one of if not the most NBA ready PG since Magic Johnson. He has The #7 pick from last year who everyone seems to think is the steal of the draft and should Rival Clyde Drexler before he is done. Well guess what Clyde put up 17-3 with 5 assists in his second year. They have a very solid defensive minded player in Matisse Thybule whom everyone thinks will fit very well with Ayton and Grant.
Supposedly they are keeping Brogdon, Williams, Walker, Knox, Moses Brown and Badgi who I hear is better than most know?

The team has starters and depth. the one caveat is they are WAY YOUNG. They will get beat by quality teams with experienced players. I get that. Everyone knows things can go bad with injuries and such so they might have a tough season. Just don't play to lose.

Prediction- 35- 47 that gets them the 11th seed. Would love to see them be better.
With any luck they can make the playin. Let them trade for picks in next years draft. No need to tank. Play to win!
Click to expand...
Cronin used the CD skipping speech. The Blazers GM said all the transactions Portland made will allow the team to "play the way Billups wants to play".

We've seen 2 seasons of mediocre ball followed by a massive tank. That's the only fact Blazer fans can take away from " the way Billups wants this team to play."
 
e_blazer said:
Or perhaps you have an unrealistic expectation regarding team balance? Sure, the Blazers’ roster is a work in progress and relies on young players for depth, but I don’t think you see much more true depth on the contenders’ rosters. Here’s the Nuggets depth chart:

Sure, they’re better, but both look pretty patchwork once you get past 8 players or so.
Click to expand...

well, that's what I was talking about when I specifically mentioned rotation

last year, the Nuggets had mostly an 8 man rotation:

6'3 - Murray
6'4 - Brown
6'5 - KCP
6'7 - Braun
6'8 - Green
6'8 - Gordon
6'10 - Porter
7'0 - Jokic

there really isn't a gap in size or skills or fit. It's pretty balanced

the Blazer 8-man rotation, at this point:

6'3 - Scoot
6'3 - Ant
6'5 - Sharpe
6.5 - Brogdon
6'5 - Thybulle
6'8 - Grant
6'9 - Williams
6'11 - Ayton

I see gaps in ball-handling, rebounding, point-of-attack-defense, and wing length. Poor balance, but of course, so much is unknown at this point there may be more balance and fewer gaps as the season progresses, especially if a couple of the back-of-bench players really elevate their games
 
38-44
without a tank.

25-57… If we tank.


mods kindly put a proper title to this annual event. It should stand out. :)
Something like:

The OFFICIAL 2023-2024 Regular Season Predictions Thread.
 
24-58

13th West
 
20 wins . No tank needed. Lot of strong teams out there. POR is in the same tier as HOU DET WAS and CHA, at least for now.

If Scoot was looking off the charts good on the pre season I would think 30 wins . He struggled a lot and that is fine. He is 19.
 
I'm gonna be optimistic and say 29 wins (and a lot of losses where we play well for most of the game just get out executed in the 4th cuz were young).. Which not to be a downer, but that'd be respectable with all the overturn and youth we're gonna need to win games in an obscenely loaded west..


But I wanna believe were like 1 more good offseason and then a 10 game win improvement away from playing .500 ball.. so i guess 31 would be more appropriate but ima say 29..

N i swear I hope I look like a fool n somehow the Blazers surprise.. but it just seems like Simons is gonna have to avg 30 a game or Aytons gonna have to put up 25 + 14 or seemingly unlikely scenarios for them to even hope to play near .500


I'm honestly pretty confident in our guards and our C's more wondering whats about to happen at PF and the wing..


The blazers do have plenty of assets to add a missing piece if somehow they start the season playing .500 ball..


But I mean.. Things can also go sour very quickly for the Blazers, injuries to Simons or Ayton would be particularly brutal.
 
Last edited:
43 wins

Ant = AllStar reserve selection

Ayton = Comeback player of the year


I think Grant and Thybulle get traded
 
  • Like
Reactions: bxb
Think I said 33 wins a number or weeks ago. Definitely saw more signs of struggles in preseason than I expected.

This team will be bad defensively, likely bottom 5 in the league.

The problem is offensively I don't think they'll be that good either. Yeah we might try to run a bunch, but teams will adjust and just get back quick and force us to execute in the half court. Ant can be a #1 or #2 option. He's absolutely critical for this team to have respectable games where they don't get immediately blown out.

But nobody else on this team can lead an offense as an effective first or second option.

Grant and Ayton are best as 3rd or 4th options. I don't think they can succeed as primary creators.

Thybulle is horrible offensively if he isn't hitting 3s which most of his career he has not made. I'm not sure he is a rotational player. That contract might look like a very bad deal in a few months.

Scoot and Sharpe have jaw dropping plays and I love their future. But they're not close to being 1st or 2nd options right now. They are years away and I hope the Blazers losses don't harm their long term development.

Brogdon is an awesome 6th man guard - but he is best as the 3rd or 4th option like Grant. He's never been the leading scorer of a team. TimeLord is super efficient on both ends but that's with garbage buckets. Also possible we trade one of these guys or Grant.

Camara is very fun to root for but he is a 2nd round pick who will make many rookie mistakes. He's more of a 5th option role player.

I think we'll be one of the 5 worst teams in the league, and last in the West. Hope I'm wrong and we win more. It's more important for us to get some wins for our youths long term development than a pick a few spots higher.

24-58
 
I think we'll pick up a few unexpected wins later in the season, but I certainly won't be surprised if we're still in single-digits when the calendar turns. Predicting 27-55 overall, 14th in conference, 5th best lotto odds overall. :dunno:
 
kjironman1 said:
Playing for a pick again??? NO FUCKING WAY!
If this team decides to lose on purpose again I will be in front of the MODA every game with a huge sign reading FIRE BILLUPS!
He has a former #1 pick in Deandre Ayton who is putting the entire league on notice. He has a very good veteran in Jerami Grant, He has a player who lillard himself says will be a star in this league in his 5th year as a starting SG in Simons. He has a PG who most say is one of if not the most NBA ready PG since Magic Johnson. He has The #7 pick from last year who everyone seems to think is the steal of the draft and should Rival Clyde Drexler before he is done. Well guess what Clyde put up 17-3 with 5 assists in his second year. They have a very solid defensive minded player in Matisse Thybule whom everyone thinks will fit very well with Ayton and Grant.
Supposedly they are keeping Brogdon, Williams, Walker, Knox, Moses Brown and Badgi who I hear is better than most know?

The team has starters and depth. the one caveat is they are WAY YOUNG. They will get beat by quality teams with experienced players. I get that. Everyone knows things can go bad with injuries and such so they might have a tough season. Just don't play to lose.

Prediction- 35- 47 that gets them the 11th seed. Would love to see them be better.
With any luck they can make the playin. Let them trade for picks in next years draft. No need to tank. Play to win!
Click to expand...
After watching preseason gotta scale it back a bit. They won't win 30 games.
25 wins at best for this team. They will undoubtedly tank and try to lose games again this year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top