The Portland Trail Blazers are one of those teams in the Western Conference that is considered an NBA betting online contender. The Blazers won 50 games last season and tied for 6th in the Western Conference. They are not considered at the level of the Lakers and they are 30-1 in NBA betting at Sbg global to win the title this season.
Blazer Additions – The Blazers added Marcus Camby, Wesley Matthews and Luke Babbitt since the start of last season. They also added Dante Cunningham in the draft. Camby and Matthews can play defense while Cunningham could be one of the steals in the draft.
Blazer Subtractions – Portland lost Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake and Juwan Howard. Portland could end up missing Outlaw and there is no doubt they will miss Blake.
Defense, Defense, Defense – When the Blazers win this season it will be due to their defense and Brandon Roy. They now have even more defense with Camby and Matthews. The Blazers already have Nicolas Batum and Greg Oden. Batum is a great defender and when healthy, Oden can really make a difference. He is expected back in November and center Joel Przybilla is also expected back sometime this season.
Brandon Roy – Portland is extremely dependent upon Roy. He is their top scorer and leader. He gets limited support from Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez and LaMarcus Aldridge but when the Blazers win it is because Roy plays well.
2010 Prediction – Portland is well coached, they have Roy and they play defense. There are worse ways to win in the NBA than with defense, a good coach and a superstar player. The Blazers play very well at home and they are competitive on the road. You might be surprised to learn that the Blazers actually had a winning record against the spread on the road last season and a losing record vs. the number at home. The problem is that the Blazers don’t have the talent to compete with the Lakers at the top of the conference and they probably can’t get by a team like Oklahoma State either. The Blazers will probably make the playoffs again this season but unless everything goes perfect, and it never does, the Blazers are not serious NBA title contenders.