Trail Blazers’ Ceiling Is High Despite Series Loss to Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. — Wednesday night’s 125-121 conference semifinal loss to the Golden State Warriors marked the end for the Portland Trail Blazers.

But this young team, having just completed a playoff run years ahead of schedule, should think of it more like a beginning. A good beginning—one absolutely nobody foresaw and one the young roster can use to propel itself forward in the future.

But first: the past.

Modest projections abounded before the season, ranging between 18 and 34 wins but never including the word playoffs unless directly preceded by some variation of the qualifier “Portland has no chance to make the.” I had them slotted 25th in the preseason edition of Bleacher Report’s power rankings.

It’s easy, even now, to defend the dearth of optimism.

The Blazers lost four of their five starters over the summer. LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum were gone—replaced by inexpensive youth. The trade that sent Batum to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the teenaged Noah Vonleh was the clearest signal short-term success was low on the priority list.

Damian Lillard was still around, primed for a big year as the only proven scoring threat on the roster. C.J. McCollum’s ascent was somewhat foreseeable, given his outburst in the 2015 postseason. And sure, you could have envisioned Meyers Leonard, Mason Plumlee and a handful of other young talents taking steps forward.

But that was how you talked yourself into the high end of those preseason projections. That was the way to 34 wins. Not 44, not a playoff series victory and certainly not a spirited showing against what might go down as the greatest team in NBA history.

And it’s easy to forget now, but after an 0-5 road trip in December dropped Portland’s record to 11-20, flat-out tanking seemed like the easiest, most logical path.

The Blazers refused to submit, and instead surged down another one.

“We kept competing,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. “When we were nine games below .500, we kept competing…it’s what we do. Every team wants an identity. If our identity is we compete every night, that’s a great place to start.”

Allen Crabbe evolved into a splendid bench gunner. Al-Farouq Aminu developed his three-point shot and hit 36.1 percent from deep, morphing into the kind of three-and-D wing everyone covets. Gerald Henderson, a throw-in from the Batum deal, …

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