National Basketball Association

NBA 2016-17 Team Previews -Portland Trail Blazers: It's Dame Time

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Jan 29, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) and guard C.J. McCollum (3) look on against the Charlotte Hornets during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

NBA 2016-17 Team Previews – Portland Trail Blazers: Last season’s Cinderella team prepares to take the next step.

To prepare our readers for the regular season SCS provides our NBA 2016-17 Team Previews. Who will return to the playoffs? Which team will fall from grace and who will be the Cinderella team?

Get a complete break down of each team. Included in the profiles are:

NBA 2016-17 Team Previews now looks at arguably the toughest division – the Northwest.

Next up is last year’s Cinderella Team the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland Trail Blazers:

Oct 19, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts reacts during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Trail Blazers won 88-84. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

2015-16 Record: 44 – 38

Playoffs:

Missed playoffs, finished 5th in Western Conference

Points Per Game: 105.1 (6th )

Opponent Points Per Game: 104.3 (20th)

Pace: 96.0 (13th )

Offensive Rank: 108.8 (6th )

Defensive Rank: 108.0 (20th)

Three Point Rank: 37.0% (4th)

Rebounds: 45.5 (5th)

Assists: 21.3 (21st)

Steals: 6.9 (25th)

Blocks: 4.6 (18th)

Turnovers: 14.6 (17th)

October 21, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

2017 Free Agents

Restricted:

Future Draft Picks

See Real GM for full details:

Incoming:

Outgoing:

Average Age of Team: 25.0 years

Next: Off Season Moves

Oct 19, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz center Jeff Withey (24) defends during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Picks

Round 1: N/A

Round 2: Jake Layman (47)

2016 Free Agents prior to July 1, 2016:

Restricted:

Unrestricted:

Moves made following July 1, 2016:

Incoming:

Exiting:

Re-upping:

Vegas over-under for wins: 46.5

Schedule strength:

As ranked by ESPN: 27th with 2.85 extra wins

The Blazers must deal with the reality of being isolated as the only team in the Pacific Northwest. (There used to be three!) Portland is slated for the fewest plane trips (56, tied with the Lakers) but projects to log a league-high 56,655 miles in the air.

Games versus Rockets:

Zach Lowe NBA League Pass Rank: 9th

The Blazers are a younger, more vibrant version of Dallas on offense, which makes sense, given the imprint Terry Stotts left in Dallas before taking the head job in Portland. They work the elbows, shift the ball side-to-side, and set more off-ball screens than anyone in the league. They keep all five guys involved, and make all five defenders run. They got faster and more versatile when Al-Farouq Aminu bumped up to power forward, and they will start a version of that lineup from jump street this season.

When the fancy motion doesn’t work, they just give the ball to Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Lillard is cold-blooded shooter who lives for late-game drama. McCollum is a jitterbug with a Hermione-deep bag of finishes from all ranges.

Next: Team Overview

Mar 1, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) celebrates with guard Damian Lillard (0) against the New York Knicks during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The Trail Blazers defeated the Knicks 104-85. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Committed Salary

2016: $119,595,973 –2nd ranked, after signing of free agents and extending McCollum the Blazers are all in.

2017: $126,171,565 – 1st ranked

Team Salary Ranking as per Hoops Hype, and team salary overview also via Hoops Hype

Starting 5:

Point Guard: Damian Lillard – 25.1 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds

Shooting Guard: CJ McCollum 20.8 points, 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds

Small Forward: Al Farouq Aminu – 10.2 points, 1.7 assists, 6.1 rebounds

Power Forward: Ed Davis – 6.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists

Center: Mason Plumlee – 9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists

Reserves:

Guards: Shabazz Napier, Evan Turner

Wings: Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless, Pat Connaughton, Tim Quarterman

Bigs: Festus Ezeli, Meyers Leonard, Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman

Injury News:

All injury news as per rotoworld

Oct 19, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts reacts during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths: