NBA Power Rankings 5-1

Oct 7, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) tries to get to the basket while being guarded by Utah Jazz guard Trey Burke (3) during the first quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

05.) Portland Trail Blazers (3rd in the Western Conference)

Remember just last season when LaMarcus Aldridge was begging Portland for a trade? I don’t think that is the case any more with Portland shocking the world and pushing them into a top-5 seed in the Western Conference last season. What happened to Portland? They clicked. Damian Lillard was coming off a strong rookie campaign and they averaged the most points of any team in their starting lineup. Which ultimately ended up killing them in the post season because they had a really weak bench. This year, they are pretty much the same team but you get a third year Damian Lillard. Usually coaches like Stotts, who only have one season of above .500 under their belt, I usually avoid buying in so early. But this is a different story; I think he did the best possible job he could have done with the hand that he was handed. He had some good starters, but he was left with zero bench depth.

 Question: Just how good is Damian Lillard going to be?

I’ve bought into Damian Lillard since day one. Lillard could do one thing that I knew would translate to the next level. He could score the basketball with ease and he had himself a confident jump shot. I think we are going to see new heights from Lillard this season, starting from the first night. Remember, the last we saw this Portland team, we saw them get beat down 4-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs. They are motivated; Lillard will join Anthony Davis as a future Superstar in the making.