http://trailblazerscentercourt.blogspot.com/2008/09/trail-blazers-back-in-town.html From Casey Holdahl's Official Trail Blazer Blog
The Blazers are getting a lot of early season hype because of their depth and the rapid development of their core players, led by Brandon Roy. Nate McMillan will have a tough job managing the minutes and finding the proper rotations to get Portland back into the post-season. Health has been a major issue for the Blazers the last few seasons, and we're seeing this trend again with Roy being sidelined, along with Channing Frye out for 8 to 10 weeks. This makes it difficult for the team to develop chemistry and consistency on the court. However, if the Blazers can stay relatively healthy and Oden anchors the defense from the start, this team has a chance to challenge for a top seed in the West. What expecations do Blazer fans have coming into this season?
my expectations are for the Blazers to make the playoffs. If they don't I will be quite disappointed. I'd say 48-52 wins is a good prediction.
I don't care if they make tons of mistakes. I just want to see them working toward the future that we think should happen. My girlfriend is a Raiders fan and watching the first game made me kind of sad. It seemed like they were protecting the young guys too much. They need to let them play like they have always played and learn from their mistakes. The Blazers need this too. If they just let them play and everyone stays reasonably healthy this team should be able to make the playoffs this year. I also think Martell is going to really step it up this year. The kid needs confidence, the kind he would have gained by going to college and gradually going against better competition. I think he probably knows now that he belongs and that he just has to do what he is capable of doing.