Trail Blazers Get Destroyed in Win Prediction for 2023-24

与official NBA schedule released today, early win total predictions for the new season are not far behind. That includesBleacher Report’s version. And let’s just say that author Andy Bailey predicts the Blazers to float through the river of 2023-24 like a cement mixer.

Bailey predicted a whopping 14 wins for the Blazers. That’s three fewer than the league-worstDetroit Pistonsnotched last season.

Of Portland, Bailey says:

This prediction is obviously based on the belief that Damian Lillard will be gone before the season starts. He’s not on the Miami Heat yet, but the trade request is out there. And it feels like thePortland Trail Blazerswill eventually honor it.

Whether it’s Miami or some other team, the return package is likely to be pick- and prospect-heavy too. And that means Portland, despite the arrival of Scoot Henderson and development of Shaedon Sharpe, will probably look a lot like it did when Lillard was off the floor in 2022-23.

The Blazers were a dismal minus-10.6 points per 100 possessions when Lillard didn’t play. That’s a point differential around that of an 18-win team.

Factor in the potential trade-deadline move of Jerami Grant (who clearly wouldn’t fit the timeline of a Lillard-less team), and it’s easy to see Portland cruising toward top-three odds in the 2024 draft lottery.

The striking low total is especially surprising since Bailey did not explore the outer limits of wins or losses, period, save for the Blazers. His highest prediction of wins is 52 for the波士顿凯尔特人队and Denver Nuggets. The lowest besides Portland is 23 for theSan Antonio Spurs. It’s like the Blazers are Charlie Brown on Halloween...everybody gets something, except they get a rock.

你同意和投影(甚至略)吗that Portland will vie for the Top 4 lottery positions in the 2024NBA Draftwith their uniquely dismal performance? Notoneof the Top 4 positions, mind you, butall of them at once, by default? I mean, a 14-68 record has got to come with some kind of award, right?

Weigh in below.