The Portland Trail Blazers have a considerable dose of fantasy appeal. They boast five players who can feasibly be taken in the first half of most standard-sized drafts, which is an impressive feat. Armed with a new, able point guard, the Blazers should be a darling for fantasy owners whenever the league resumes. And if the knees of its hometown hero and hometown bust hold up during a shortened season — wait, let’s not get too greedy.
Depth chart:
PG: Raymond Felton, Armon Johnson, Nolan Smith, Patty Mills**
SG: Wesley Matthews, Brandon Roy, Elliot Williams, Jon Diebler
SF: Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, Luke Babbitt
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Marcus Camby, Greg Oden**, Earl Barron, Chris Johnson
** restricted free agent
Relevant fantasy players and their projected draft positions/per-game stats:
– LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C (Rd. 2): 50% FG, 78% FT, 20 Pts, 8.5 Reb, 2.2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO
– Gerald Wallace, SF/PF (Rd. 2): 50% FG, 75% FT, 1 Three, 17 Pts, 7.5 Reb, 2.5 Ast, 1.7 Stl, 0.7 Blk, 2.3 TO
– Raymond Felton, PG/SG (Rd. 5): 43% FG, 75% FT, 1.3 Threes, 12.5 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 7 Ast, 1.3 Stl, 2.7 TO
– Wesley Matthews, SG/SF (Rd. 6): 45% FG, 85% FT, 1.7 Threes, 15 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO
– Nicolas Batum, SG/SF (Rd. 6): 47% FG, 85% FT, 1.5 Threes, 13 Pts, 4 Reb, 1.5 Ast, 1 Stl, 0.5 Blk, 1 TO
– Marcus Camby, C (Rd. 12+): 40% FG, 60% FT, 3.5 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 0.5 Stl, 1 Blk, 0.7 TO
Sleeper:
Babbitt
Most likely to surprise:
Felton
Most likely to disappoint:
Aldridge
Category specialists:
– Threes: Matthews, Batum
– Steals: Wallace
Things to consider:
– Roy’s health (which should benefit from the lockout) and his effect on Matthews’ value
– Camby’s health and the consequences it has on the starting lineup (Batum starting at SF?)
Team’s statistical NBA ranks from 2010-11:
– Pts: 24th
– FGM: T-24th
– FGA: 19th
– FG%: 24th
– FT%: 3rd
– 3PTM: T-13th
– Reb: T-27th
– Ast: 16th
– TO: T-1st
– Stl: T-5th
– Blk: T-20th
– Pace: 30th
– Offensive Efficiency: 11th
– Defensive Efficiency: 14th
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
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