NBA Predictions: The Utah Jazz will rise in the Northwest Division

3. Portland Trail Blazers

Key Additions: Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr., Enes Kanter, Harry Giles

Key Losses: Mario Hezonjia

Dame Dolla and company look to bounce back after a tough injury-riddled season. Terry Stotts, one of the smartest offensive coaches in the league, managed to get his team into the playoffs despite not having a true starting center or power forward healthy for most of the season.

The Trail Blazers really nailed their offseason – they got Robert Covington via trade from Houston, then signed Derrick Jones Jr, Enes Kanter, and the untapped Harry Giles. A team that was starved for frontcourt help will now have a plethora of lineup options.

Portland was a top 5 offensive team, which is to be expected when Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are your starting backcourt. Defense, however, was still an area of significant weakness (27th in Defense Efficiency), driven mostly by their inability to rebound and protect the rim. This was fully-exhibited in the playoffs when they were beaten up by the long and rangy Lakers in the first round.

The acquisition of Robert Covington (along with a healthy Jusuf Nurkic) should help in that department – both bigs can guard against larger lineups while still providing spacing for Lillard and McCollum on the offensive end.

What I like about this team is how deep their bench is. Portland now has a projected bench unit of Rodney Hood, Anthony Simons, Harry Giles, Carmelo Anthony, and Enes Kanter. Having a bench unit full of guys who can get 15-20 points any night should have every Portland fan giddy. With some modest improvement on the defensive end and a little bit better luck with injuries, Portland could contend for a top-four seed in the West.

Projected Record: 44-28