Portland Trail Blazers preview: Picking themselves up from rough offseason

The Trail Blazers finished last season with the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. In the postseason, they took one game from the No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

What’s different this season? Portland had a brutal offseason. During the free agency nightmare, the Blazers said goodbye to four of their five starters: power forward LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs, shooting guard Wesley Matthews to the Mavericks, small forward Nicolas Batum to the Hornets and center Robin Lopez to the Knicks. In return, they acquired power forward Ed Davis (massive downgrade), shooting guard Gerald Henderson (downgrade), small forward Al-Farouq Aminu (downgrade) and center Mason Plumlee (slight upgrade).

How good can they be? The Blazers won’t be the worst team in the West, but a playoff spot is pretty much out of the question. They have one of the best young point guards in the league in Damian Lillard, but he can’t be expected to do it all. It’s time to rebuild in Portland.

How far do they have to go? Further than most teams in the league. On the bright side, four of the five starters are 26 or younger. And Noah Vonleh and C.J. McCollum are solid young players off the bench.

Aldridge will be missed: The Blazers surely will feel the pain of losing of so many starters, but Alrdidge’s departure will hurt just a little bit more. He is one of the most talented and versatile big men in the NBA. Finding a 6-11, 240-pound player who puts up 20 points and 10 rebounds game after game and shoots 85% from the free throw line won’t be easy.

All on the shoulders of Lillard: Last season, Lillard was one of the busiest players in the league. He ranked fourth in the league with 1,360 shots attempted and was tied for eighth in minutes per game with 35.4. He also averaged a 4.2-mile radius of distance covered per game, tied for second.