ESPN Insider...... Great look at our future......

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...and-trail-blazers-become-title-contenders-nba

Looks like the most of these writers are saying that we need to be patient and try to keep this squad in place. Don't rush it like other teams that had surprising seasons......

Where will the 2016-17 Blazers finish in the standings........

 

They sleepin again. Time to go get KD

 

LOL.

Well, they said we were gonna win 26 games... now they say we're gonna be 6-8th seed.

TOP 3 SEED HERE WE COME!

 

This rebuild was and still is 2-3 years. this summer, a season, and another summer, this team will be a contender i am thinking. Winning a championship is always a crap shoot, even for the very best teams. Blazers will be in the top 4 in 2 more years. That is a position that gets you a chance to have a little luck fall your way.

 

Dallas is on the way down. Houston is on the way down. That offers plenty of room 6-8 for Utah and Minny to slip in. But among those above us, the teams in flux are just as numerous: Clippers, Grizzlies, Thunder, and the Spurs all have big question marks going into next season. There's LOTS of room for us to sneak up on the West.

 

This team went 29-14 to end season and then became the only team to beat the Warriors twice this season. We are a 55 win team next year with no change to the roster.

 

Spurs though? Let's be honest. Even if Duncan and Ginobili retire they're still gonna win 50+....

 

50+ yes but nobody's a lock for 2nd anymore. That they're in flux gives OKC room, or us room (hey you never know, maybe we hit it big with a killer FA). Point is, they probably aren't winning 65+ anymore. Remember, we've been playing at a 54-win rate for all of 2016. I think that's doable next season.

 

Yeah I definitely don't expect 67 wins again. They're gonna be a great still though, and a tough out in the playoffs.

 

Let the cake bake!

 

What else would you expect from a Laker fan? It's the Super Double Top Secret Plan to destroy Rip City. They're still bitter Kobe couldn't win in Portland.

 

I think the West will be tougher next season...the Blazers, even with growth by some players, might regress a bit in record even if they don't actually get worse. I think to jump to the ~55 win (or better) level, they need to have a strong off-season. I'm on record in hoping for Horford and Marvin Williams...if that did happen, I think the Blazers could challenge for the #2 seed.

 

Aside from the fact that you have no idea what is going to happen over the next five months, I always get a kick out of someone acting like injuries are all fluke things that only happen once. Yes, no player ever has been injury prone. Being able to stay healthy or play hurt is not an ability (sarcasm).

 

I will pay money to see that.

 

Which I'll recoup from low price yard maintenance.

 

I think this is closer to the truth, rather than to think of us as a 44 win team. We got better as the season wore on. I suspect we'll have a stronger start to next season. That being said, we need a consistent starting PF, a Buck Williams-type.

 

I agree with almost everything but for 2016, we had a very easy schedule overall and our large run went mostly against under .500 teams if I recall correctly.
I do think the team makes some improvement internally off season, but I wouldn't bank my prediction off what we did in 2016 per say. More so of how we did in the last month. I think we grew more in the last month that we did the bulk of the season.
Semantics I know...

 

Actually by the end of the season our post-Xmas strength of schedule was pretty normal; yeah we had cupcakes in January, but we had that hellish March too versus OKC and GSW and MEM.

We will improve over the summer too. This team should internally work like 54 wins is their floor, not 44 wins.