This weekend marks the start of the NBA season with preseason basketball beginning across the league. The Portland Trail Blazers will face off against the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon at 7:30 pm PST/10:30 pm EST for the first of their two matchups against one another this weekend. With their season starting in earnest tonight and their regular-season opener less than two weeks away, let’s take a look at the top storylines to follow in Rip City this year. Here is the Portland Trail Blazers 2020-21 Season Preview.
Your 2019/20 Refresher
The First 66 Games
If you had to use a single word to describe the Blazer’s 2019/20 season, it would be adversity. Sure, maybe that’s a fair characterization for all of our journeys over the past year. But even before the pandemic arrived, Portland was facing unexpected challenges. The Blazers began the season without one of their key pieces, as center Jusuf Nurkic was still rehabbing the broken leg he’d suffered the previous year. This figured to pave the way for forward Zach Collins. Primed for a starting role and a big developmental step in his third professional season, in just their third game of the year, Collins injured his left shoulder. The injury ended his season before it had the chance to start.
Down two key frontcourt pieces and looking for new ways to generate offense, the Blazers surprised the basketball world by signing veteran Carmelo Anthony to a one-year deal, hoping his pedigree would inject the team with the boost of life they so desperately needed. Just when the team began getting a sense of how this new-look lineup would fare, they were hit with another injury. Rodney Hood was one of the standouts from Portland’s 2019 Western Conference Finals run, and The Blazers signed the shooting guard to a two-year, $16 million contract during the following offseason. The expectation was that he would build on his previous year’s postseason success. Then in an early December game against the Lakers, Hood tore his Achilles and required season-ending surgery. It wasn’t even Christmas and the Blazers were down 3/5 of their starting lineup.
The Blazer’s final game before the shutdown came on March 10th. With their win over the Suns, they sat 29-37 as the conference’s 9th seed. That put them 3.5 games behind the 8th seeded Grizzlies.
The Restart
Entering the Orlando restart, Portland was optimistic. Their frontcourt tandem of Nurkic and Collins were healthy and rejoining the lineup. They were without veteran wing Trevor Ariza, who remained home for family reasons, but that meant a starting role for the now-beloved Anthony. Portland went on to win seven of their nine games, including their play-in game over the Grizzlies. In that pivotal matchup, though, the Blazers lost Collins yet again, this time with an ankle injury. Still, they cemented their spot as the conference’s 8th seed and with that, a matchup with the top-seeded Lakers.
The rest went how just about everyone aside from Charles Barkley imagined. Against the eventual champions, Portland played a few good games. They won Game 1 before being blown out in two contests and competitive in another on their way to a 4-1 series loss. After their pre-playoff bubble success, it was disappointing the run had to end so unceremoniously. But they’d learned something about themselves throughout their months in Orlando. When healthy, they could compete against anyone in the league. With a few additions who might complement their style of play, they could potentially make the kind of deep playoff push that had eluded the organization for most of its current era.
New Faces
Portland’s President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey was aggressive this offseason. Getting the team healthy and rested would be important. So too would be getting developmental improvements from some of their young players. But the team’s top executive also understood the importance of making a push to bolster a roster that was already featuring one of the league’s best backcourt tandems in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The early reviews were glowing. But just who were these new pieces that would supposedly help push Rip City over the hump?
Robert Covington
The 6’7″ 29-year-old wing was the marquee signing for Portland this offseason. He figures to slot in as an immediate starter. The seven-year veteran began last season in Minnesota before being traded to Houston, and on the year he averaged 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. A career 35.6% 3-point shooter, Covington arrives as the legitimate 3-and-D wing player Portland has been in such desperate need of. He’s been a bit of a journeyman, playing on three different teams in his seven seasons (as well as two separate stints in Houston). Despite his history, he very well could have the talent, build, and style to make Portland a permanent home. His success will be crucial to Portland’s status as potential contenders.
Derrick Jones Jr.
Last season’s Slam Dunk Contest winner, the 6’6″ 23-year-old arrives in Portland coming off his best season as a professional. Likely to begin the year as a starter while Rodney Hood continues to rehab his Achilles, Jones’ length and quickness will make him a key part of a much improved Portland defense. While he has not proven to be a prolific scorer, his ability to finish at the rim is well documented. Should the Blazers look to incorporate more fast-paced transition opportunities with their half-court, pick and roll offense, Jones may be the most obvious beneficiary.
Harry Giles
Part of the 2017 draft-night trade that delivered Zach Collins to the Blazers, Giles comes to Portland as an athletic depth piece in an already talented frontcourt. The 6’11” 22-year-old has struggled with injuries since entering the league. He missed the entirety of his rookie season and has bounced between Sacramento and their G-League affiliate for much of the past two years. Despite the inconsistency, the former first-round pick has shown flashes of potential, including a four-game stretch last season where he scored in double figures each game. There are many mouths to feed in the Portland frontcourt. Perhaps, though, an opportunity to get healthy and the tutelage of the Blazer’s veterans will see a resurgence for Giles.
Enes Kanter
A crucial part of Portland’s 2019 playoff run, Kanter returns to the Blazers after one season in Boston. Off the court, the 6’10” veteran is a fan favorite and was extremely active in the community during his one previous season with the Blazers. On the court, he figures to be both an insurance piece for Jusuf Nurkic as well as a solid defender capable of spelling both Nurkic and Collins upon his return. While he’s not a consistently high scorer, Kanter’s familiarity with Damian Lillard and the team’s pick-and-roll offense should afford him plenty of high-efficiency opportunities.
CJ Elleby
Portland’s lone pick from the 2020 draft, the Pacific North West native will get a chance to learn in his first NBA season. A 6’6″ Washington State graduate, Elleby comes highly touted by fans and coaches alike in Pullman. In his two college seasons, he averaged 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while shooting just shy of 37% on 3-pointers. If he can fill out his frame and play effective defense, his size and shooting capabilities could make him an effective NBA player.
Strengths
This is a well-balanced team. Their backcourt is supremely talented, and their front-court is very deep. The additions of Covington and Jones, and the re-signing of Carmelo Anthony, give Portland their most talented and experienced group of wings in the Damian Lillard era.
Their biggest strength remains their offense. This is Damian Lillard’s team, and the star point guard continues to amaze. A top-ten offense in the league by most metrics last season, this year should actually see improvement by virtue of swapping Covington’s expected production for Ariza, and the addition of a fully healthy Nurkic to start the season. If the Blazers can get the kind of improvement they’re hoping for from Anfernee Simons, this team could easily lead the league in scoring.
Weaknesses
New year, same issues. A full season of Nurkic plus the additions of Covington and Jones should help this unit. But the defense remains a question mark. We have to see it first. Last season they sported the third-worst defensive rating in the league. They’re going to have to find an identity if this team has any hopes of reversing that trend.
The other area of concern has to be backcourt depth. The emergence of Gary Trent Jr. last season was a revelation. He recently indicated he would not seek a contract extension this season, so it’s clear he’s betting on himself. That’s always solid motivation to work hard. But outside of Trent Jr., the Blazers are going to need production from Anfernee Simons. The 21-year-old point guard is incredibly talented. Comments from the organization seem to indicate a belief in the young player. But he hasn’t shown it yet. They need to be able to count on him to be consistent. Lillard’s minutes are continually among the highest in the league, and in order to avoid putting too much wear on their star, as well as to take the next leap as a team, they’ll need Simons to make the jump.
Injuries
- Zach Collins: The 7’0″ big man is still recovering from last summer’s ankle surgery. His return timetable will depend on how he continues to rehab. But Neil Olshey said in November that, “His timeline is probably closer to the second or third week in January than it is to opening night.”
- Rodney Hood: Coming off last season’s ruptured Achilles, Hood should be ready to see game action as soon as this coming Sunday in their preseason matchup with the Kings.
What to Expect
Westgate currently has the Blazers win-total at 41.5, finishing the season as the Western Conference 6 seed. Clearly, this is going to be a bizarre season. Expect the unexpected. We’re already looking at 10 fewer games this year, down to 72 from the typical 82 games. None of us know what is going to happen. That said, if you’re going to bet, I think you have to take the over here. Only the first half of the season’s schedule has been released so far. It looks very good for the Blazers. I expect the top teams in the league, especially those who made deep playoff runs, to be very conservative with the minutes for their star players early on. Portland, on the other hand, will be looking to find its identity.
This is a hungry team. They have a chip on their shoulder. I don’t anticipate this being the year that Lillard and their starters begin taking load management games off.
Expect new household names this season. And old familiar faces. Expect the same, exciting basketball which has defined the organization for so many years. Expect a few bumps along the road, after all, it is still 2020 and this is still the NBA. Most of all, and most importantly, expect to have your beer in the fridge and your snacks well stocked.
Because basketball is back. The Blazers are back. And that’s a wonderful thing.
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