NBA: Battle for the Final Spot in the Western Conference
By Drew Clark
Portland Trailblazers (15-21, 9th in Western Conference)
Oh, Portland. I was a sucker and believed in the performance put forth last season. Scratched my head at a few of the off-season moves, yet still made myself believe in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum enough to pick them to finish fifth in the West before the season started. Lillard has not been as efficient as one would like to be if they wanted to be in MVP-talks. Still averages 27 ppg, but 35 percent from deep combined with horrid defense won’t cut it.
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McCollum has an been excellent piece for the Blazers once again this season, well worth the extension. He is averaging nearly 23 ppg, while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3pt. With this in mind, the idea of splitting up the guard duo has crept into many minds of the basketball community.
This could give them the playoff push they need, IF they get the return that McCollum should offer.
Mason Plumlee and Mo Harkless have been excellent role players, and are the only other players averaging 10+ ppg. Plumlee’s passing ability is perfect for this shooting team, but it’d be great if he could pose more of a threat as a scorer than he is.
The team is 15-21 so far, dealing with inconsistency problems all year. Being ranked dead last in defensive rating doesn’t help the cause either. They do hold victories against the other teams mentioned here, but their best win is either against Utah or Oklahoma City. Its hard to take this team seriously to make a playoff push with that defense.