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Ahead of the NBA playoffs, FoxSports will find the best-case scenario for all 16 qualified teams and make the case for why each could win the title.
Public sentiment left the Blazers for dead this summer. They were supposed to morph into a coastal version of the Denver Nuggets. LaMarcus Aldridge was gone, Wes Matthews was gone, Nic Batum was gone, and the Blazers didn't do much to replace the three pieces of the team's 50-win core.
The Blazers were supposed to be cool with their lottery pick.
No one expected Damian Lillard to turn into the human torch.
Lillard was already one of the NBA's elite players, but this season, he became the focal point of a Blazers offense that, because of his incendiary play, could keep up with the best in the league.
Lillard has dropped 50 points twice this season, and his zeal for dueling with the game's best scorers bodes well for the big stage of the playoffs.
I mean, this dude scored 17 points in the final three minutes of a game against the Thunder, singlehandedly willing the Blazers to a win.
You never know when Lillard's going catch fire, but a word to the wise if he does — get out of the way.
The Blazers embraced small ball in new ways this year, and while they're not exactly on the cutting edge of the movement, can push more regressive teams in this area.
The versatility of Noah Vonleh, Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless, and Allen Crabbe (who has come out of nowhere to have a really solid year — 113 offensive rating) gives the Blazers a variety of different lineups to put around Lillard and his Splash Brother, CJ McCollum.
The increased versatility has created two extra possessions a game for the Blazers compared to last year, and for a team that has gone from 8th to 3rd in 3-point shooting percentage and is still chucking them at a high rate (28.4 per game), that's a big advantage.
Again, they're doing this after losing two max players and the team's offensive and two-way linchpin this summer.
The Blazers are deep, but they have a go-to lineup. The five-man of Mason Plumlee, McCollum, Lillard, Harkless, and Aminu is one of three units in the NBA this season that has played more than 250 minutes and posted a net rating better than 15. The Warriors and Thunder boast the other two.
The Blazers want that No. 5 seed, and they might just steal it from the Grizzlies in the final week of the season. If they can land it, they'll square up with the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.
A Thunder-Blazers 3-6 matchup first-round matchup would be a fun shootout to watch, but a murder's row of OKC, Golden State, and San Antonio is too much for even the stubborn Lillard to overcome.
But a first-round matchup with the Clippers could propel the Blazers to greatness. LA is a wild card — we have no idea what they're going to do come the playoffs, and the Blazers could blitz them and highlight their lack of cohesion inside a new(ish) offense.
That would set up a second-round series with the Warriors. The Blazers have beaten the Warriors straight-up this season, and Lillard getting four games in his hometown, Oakland, could mean 200 points for the point guard. If the Warriors opt to watch Lillard and Curry duel, they could find themselves behind in the series.
If the Blazers take out the Dubs, what's to say they can't run the Spurs off the court? McCollum is good for a nine 3-pointer game and the Moda Center is sure to steal a contest as well. Don't you think that Lillard and company could win two more games in that series?
Young team, emboldened by pulling off two of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history would be rolling into the NBA Finals. The Cavs wouldn't stand a chance.
