The 2020-21 Portland Trail Blazers are an NBA Rorschach test. Their 60% winning rate paints them as a top-third team. Their defense and record against plus-.500 squads? Not so much.
Yesterday Joseph Casciaro of TheScore broke down the arguments for and against the Trail Blazers challenging the contenders this season. The good news: they have a chance. The bad news: the odds seem long.
Predictably, Casciaro opens the case against Portland by covering their defense. He dings Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Enes Kanter, laments injuries to Jusuf Nurkic, and praises starting forwards Robert Covington and Derrick Jones, Jr.