Portland Trail Blazers: 40-1

There are a couple of key differences between the Portland Trail Blazers and the just-covered Raptors, and hardly any of them offer support for Rip City’s better chances.
The Blazers were lean last year, buttressing an elite starting five with next to nothing off the bench. Bringing in Chris Kaman and Steve Blake doesn’t feel as a remedy.
Obviously, second-year shield C.J. McCollum needs to see his role increase this season, and he’s got the combo-guard skills to produce an impact. Head coach Terry Stotts is apparently leaning toward him as a sixth man; McCollum directed all Blazers reserves in minutes per game during the preseason.
For all this, it’s difficult to grasp why Portland is viewed as a bigger name hazard than Toronto. The Blazers’ conference is tougher, their bench remains thinner and they finished the year at only 23-19 following a red-hot start. Portland is a good group, but it may not be much more than that.
It is going to be up to Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and the rest of the starters to replicate that fifth-ranked offensive rating. If they can not do that, imagine defense and an underwhelming chair may finally hit one of the past year’s biggest surprises having a painful dose of reality.

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