Perhaps using the phrase "exceeding expectations" rather than "overachieving" would be more to Draco's liking? There may have been some stats gurus living in their parents' basements somewhere who assigned numerical values to each of Olshey's acquisitions last summer, applied some arcane algorithm to them, and concluded that this team could possibly, if the stars happened to align right, challenge for the last playoff spot in the West. If they wrote a memo about their conclusions, the NBA "experts" who issue the preseason predictions either didn't get it or didn't bother reading it.
There's a name game that goes on in the NBA and unless your team is stocked with at least 3 of those "name" guys, you aren't going to get any love from the prognosticators. I think Olshey and his staff undoubtedly went looking for the no-name guys that their stats gurus said had potential to make significant strides if given more playing time. Those decisions worked out very well, to say the least. Combine that with a leader like Dame who loves playing with a chip on his shoulder and is never willing to listen to anybody tell him what he can't do, who can instill a work ethic and camaraderie like the Blazers have exhibited this season, and you've got a recipe for turning a perceived pumpkin into a Cinderella carriage.
Sure, it helped that some of the teams in the West have fallen off from their performances of recent years. At least some of that, however, is due to the unusual number of wins that the top teams have been gobbling up this year. It also helped that the Blazers have been fairly healthy (although Dame's foot problems and Leonard's loss to a shoulder injury are not insignificant losses). Finally, I'd certainly agree that Olshey is going to have to work some more magic this summer if this team is to build upon its success this year and move into the ranks of the contenders.
BUT.....all of that said,
THIS HAS BEEN ONE HELL OF A FUN SEASON! GO BLAZERS!
