Purple&Blues Q&A : Western Conference
By Cody Powers
Feb 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Team Chuck guard Ricky Rubio (9) of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives against Team Shaq guard Damian Lilard (0) of the Portland Trailblazers during the second half of the rising stars challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
3. Which team that didn’t make the playoffs last season, will make the playoffs this season?
Haslam – Minnesota Timberwolves- If they can stay healthy they are a really good team. Add in a quality shooting guard in Kevin Martin and I think they could surprise a lot of people.
L. McDermott – Portland Trailblazers. This is another talented young team. They won 33 games in a stacked Western Conference lead by Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard. He’s not alone though as he’s got talented teammates in LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews coming back. This team also had a great offseason adding Thomas Robinson and Robin Lopez via trade, Dorell Wright and Earl Watson via Free Agency, and CJ McCollum, and Allen Crabbe in the draft. I expect this team to score a lot of points this year and take that 8th spot. If healthy, the Timberwolves could be an option here too.
R. McDermott – I think the Pelicans with an experienced Anthony Davis, a healthy Eric Gordon and the addition of All-Star point guard Jure Holladay take the 8th seed. They also have sharp shooter Ryan Anderson and Little Doc Rivers looks to be better as well.
Newman – I kinda started answering this at the end of my last answer. I think Portland has a real good chance at making the playoffs. The Mo Williams signing to me kinda shows they know they’re really close and wanted another threat to hopefully put them over the hump. If everyone stays healthy I really think Portland grabs the 8th seed this season.
Anderson – Either New Orleans or Minnesota. Probably both.
Powers – I really like what Portland did this off season. They fixed the problem that they had last season. They added a bench. Mo Williams, CJ McCollum, Dorrell Wright, Thomas Robinson, and Robin Lopez will help this team stay in games and maybe this season they won’t run out of gas the last 13 games. I think Minnesota will be really good this season if they can stay healthy.