> Portland had a strong second half last season and finished with 36 wins, nearly scratching its way into the Play-In Tournament in the final weeks. But the Blazers seem to be a likely regression candidate on multiple fronts. For starters, the underlying data from a year ago suggests the Blazers weren’t quite as good as their record, with a minus-3.0 per game scoring margin.
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> It remains to be seen how this team will score. Minus Simons and Ayton, the Blazers seem like a near-guarantee for a bottom-five offense, with Deni Avdija (who was genuinely good last season and should have received far more attention for it) the closest thing they have to a go-to guy. Blind faith in the idea that Scoot Henderson can be a plus-starter at point guard is probably the only other reason for optimism here, but he will miss the start of the season repairing a torn hamstring, and the point guard spot is a glaring hole in his absence.
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> Alas, the Blazers seem not quite built for the future but also not for the present. They missed their moment to trade Jerami Grant, who still has three years and $102 million left on a contract nobody wants, and jumped right back in the same boat with Holiday. Damian Lillard, back for the vibes, adds another $14 million cap hit while taking the year off to recuperate from a torn Achilles.