NBA: Power ranking the top 10 teams as preseason begins

10. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are a household name in the Western Conference Playoffs having 11 playoff berths in the last 13 years. While it is certainly a feat in and of itself to make the postseason, Portland hasn’t really elevated further than that, exiting each playoff run in a disappointing fashion.

Quite possibly the most affected by the disparity of it all is the franchise saving grace in superstar point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard has done nothing short of carrying this Blazers team through the toughest of battles to get them to where they are today. Without Lillard Portland would not have half the wins the team has logged over the last decade.

He is an irreplaceable priceless piece of this Blazers team both today and historically speaking, and now he’s close to slipping away. Yes, Lillard has expressed discontent with his franchise as year-in and year-out they fail to land big-time free agency signings to provide the help Dame needs to win big.

This year is no different; the Blazers appear to be relatively the same roster of the same playoff-caliber skill level, except Lillard is less happy. While one player’s emotions shouldn’t impact the game too much, it is still something worth monitoring. Expect Portland to excel throughout the regular season, but once the playoffs come around they’ll be lucky to see the conference finals.