http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...eviews--portland-trail-blazers-084322989.html Over the course of a few months, a team thought to be in rebuilding mode became able to entertain challenging for a conference title * * * This is absolutely a good position for the franchise, but it also presents new challenges as head coach Terry Stotts and his players attempt to build on the gains of last season. The Blazers added several players who should improve a previously thin bench, but they remain heavily dependent on their starting five. Plenty of teams find themselves in the same situation, but few contenders take it to the same extreme as the Blazers. They will go as far as Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Robin Lopez take them. Kelly Dwyer's Best Guess at a Record: 55-27, 5th in the West