Portland Trail Blazers 2009-2010 Season Preview, Picks & Odds

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Portland Trail Blazers 2008-2009 NBA Record: 54-28, 2nd in Northwest Division

Portland Trail Blazers 2008-2009 ATS (Against The Spread): 46-36

Portland Trail Blazers Betting Trends & Betting Angles:

• 2-17 SU past 19 trips to Denver

• 7-0 SU, 5-2 ATS past 7 at home to T-Wolves

• 8-1 ATS past 9 trips to Minnesota

• 3-9 SU, 4-8 ATS past 12 trips to Oklahoma City

• 12-4 ATS past 16 games as favorite

• 6-0 SU and ATS past 6 at home to Utah

• 2-14 SU, 4-12 ATS past 16 trips to Utah

Portland Trail Blazers 2009-2010 Preview & Prediction

No one doubts that the Blazers are on the upswing and going places this season. The question is just how far can they go? They possess the talent to make a deep run in the playoffs. The talent is there and now the Blazers have the luxury of possessing a year of playoff experience.

All the ingredients are in place for the Blazers to firmly entrench themselves as a title contender for a long stretch. They are no longer interested in the concept of being ‘too young’ as the reason for not taking a major step forward.

It’s time for the Blazers to stop thinking they’re too young to win a title and start thinking they can win a title.

Portland Trail Blazers Coach: Nate McMillan (5th season)

Portland Trail Blazers Returning Players: Forwards LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw; guards Jerryd Bayless, Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Brandon Roy, Martell Webster; centers Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla.

Portland Trail Blazers Key Additions: Forward Victor Claver (draft), forward Dante Cunningham (draft), forward Juwan Howard (free agent), guard Andre Miller (free agent), guard Patrick Mills (draft).

Portland Trail Blazers Key Subtractions: Guard Sergio Rodriguez (traded to Kings), forward Channing Frye (signed with Suns), center Raef LaFrentz (free agent), forward Shavlik Randolph (signed with Heat), forward Michael Ruffin (signed with Thunder).

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Point Guards:

The addition of Andre Miller represents an upgrade over incumbent starter Steve Blake. The 33-year-old Miller produced a solid year (16.3 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game) last season and the Blazers expect him to post similar numbers this season, his 11th in the league.

Steve Blake was pretty good (11.0 points and 5.0 assists) and his assist-to-turnover ratio was one of the best in the league last season. The problem for the 6-3, 172-pound Blake was his defensive liabilities that were highlighted in the playoffs.

The Blazers aren’t about to mess with the chemistry that produced a stellar campaign last season. While Miller has been a starter most of his career, it’s expected that Blake will begin the season as the starter and Miller will lead the second unit. Neither is what you’d call a defender.

Meanwhile, all of the offseason action has placed second-year guard Jerryd Bayless as the forgotten man.

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Off Guards:

Most NBA scouts predicted that Brandon Roy would be a good player, but few could have forecasted how he would become so good so quickly.

The fourth-year guard added another all­star selection to his resume and has quickly ascended up the ranks as one of the league’s elite players. His reputation was enhanced by a making a few game-winning shots to go along with another do-it-all (22.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds) season. But the Blazers’ playoff loss to Houston illuminated the issue of finding help for Roy. The Rockets focused nearly their entire defensive strategy on slowing Roy and he still averaged 26.7 points a game.

Backup Rudy Fernandez (l0.4 points a game) provided reliable three-point shooting (39.9 percent).

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Small Forwards:

When the Blazers acquired Nicolas Batum in a 2008 draft night trade with Houston, it was expected the skinny forward would spend the season playing in his native France. Instead, the 6-8, 210-pound Batum displayed a defensive energy and prowess that McMillan couldn’t ignore.

Batum will face competition from Martell Webster, who missed most of the season while recovering from a foot injury. Webster isn’t the defensive player that Batum is, but his outside shooting (10.7 points a game, 38.8 percent 3-point shooting in 2007-08) was an element that the Blazers did miss last season.

The emergence of Batum and the return of Webster places McMillan and the Blazers in a dilemma. What to do with Travis Outlaw? The 6-9 Outlaw came through with more than a few clutch shots last season, but also drew McMillan’s wrath with missed assignments on offense and defense. Outlaw was a disappointment in the playoffs and was mentioned in trade talk throughout the summer.

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Power Forwards:

One of Aldridge’s goals this season is earn a spot on the All-Star team. Considering his progress in his first three seasons, that goal is certainly attainable. The 6-11 Aldridge has increased his scoring average each year of his career, reaching a career high in scoring (18.1 points) and averaging 7.5 rebounds last season. The Blazers want Aldridge to develop more scoring inside.

The backup position is up for grabs, one reason why the Blazers tried to lure Paul Millsap away from Utah. Rookies Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham will compete for the spot.

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Centers:

Oden played like a rookie last season, with an inconsistent year. The 7-0, 257- pound Oden averaged 8.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.13 blocked shots during 21.5 minutes a game last season. Those numbers were decent, but for someone entering the league with so much hype, much more was expected. Oden’s performance had many critics claiming the Blazers blew it by drafting him instead of Kevin Durant.

All the talk about Oden overshadowed a strong year by Przybilla. In fact, Przybilla (5.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.18 blocked shots in 23.8 minutes a game) played well enough to start more often than Oden. Przybilla could be even more effective coming off the bench, but he’ll likely begin the season as the starter.

Portland Trail Blazers 2009-2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the Portland Trail Blazers will finish 2nd in the NBA Northwest Division .

Portland Trail Blazers Betting

Portland Trail Blazers NBA Championship Odds: +700

Portland Trail Blazers Eastern Conference Odds: +2000

Portland Trail Blazers 2008-2009 Betting Stats

Portland Trail Blazers Straight Up: 54-28

Portland Trail Blazers ATS: 46-36

Portland Trail Blazers Home ATS: 27-14

Portland Trail Blazers Away ATS: 19-22

Portland Trail Blazers Record As Favorite: 44-9

Portland Trail Blazers Record As Dog: 10-19

Portland Trail Blazers Over/Under: 39-42-1

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