What Went Right?
Zach Randolph re-established himself as a good young player in this league. He established himself as the best young player under 25 in the league. He dropped 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in 68 games. Brandon Roy proved himself to be the best all-around rookie as he won the Rookie of the Year award (see above). Jarret Jack proved himself to be a legit NBA point guard despite his reputation going into the season as a shoot first guy that couldn't run a team. He was able to average over 12 points and 5 assists per game. After spraining his ankle in January, Travis Outlaw was slow to return to his regular form in February and March. However, in the month of April, he exploded and showed his potential in this league. In April, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and shot 46% from the field and 92% from the line. Ime Udoka emerged as a Bruce Bowen type of performer. He played great defense all year long and shot 40.6% from three-point range.

What Went Wrong?
Injuries didn't help this team at all. Brandon Roy missed 25 games. Randolph missed 14 games. Travis Outlaw missed 15 games and LaMarcus Aldridge missed 19 games. Raef LaFrentz missed 55 games. Martell Webster was the only player to get time in all 82 games and he performed well under expectations. He averaged under 10 points per game and shot under 40% from the field. The team lost 50 games for the 3rd straight year and missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year after making the playoffs for the 21 previous seasons.

Off-Season Overview
The rebuilding process turned the corner this past May when the Blazers won the NBA lottery. They had a tough choice to make between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. They chose wisely, and took Oden from Ohio State. The Blazers were able to draft and trade for 5 guys that had been projected as first round picks. They signed Steve Blake as an insurance policy for Jarret Jack. They dealt their best player, Zach Randolph, to the Knicks for a soon-to-be-waived Steve Francis and the promising Channing Frye. They have completely gone the way of youth and it will pay off. Not this season due to Oden's micro-fracture surgery, but starting in 2008, the youth movement has Portland fans dreaming of future titles.

Players Added- Small Forward Travis Outlaw (Re-signed), Center Greg Oden (Draft), Power Forward Josh McRoberts (Draft), Point Guard Taurean Green (Draft), Point Guard Steve Blake (Free Agent, Denver), Small Forward James Jones (Trade, Phoenix), Point Guard Petteri Koponen (Trade, Philadelphia), Power Forward Channing Frye (Trade, New York)
Players Lost- Center Jamaal Magloire (Free Agent, New Jersey), Small Forward Ime Udoka (Free Agent, San Antonio), Small Forward Derrick Byars (Trade, Philadelphia), Small Forward Demetris Nichols (Trade, New York), Power Forward Zach Randolph (Trade, New York), Shooting Guard Fred Jones (Trade, New York), Point Guard Dan Dickau (Trade, New York), Guard Steve Francis (Waived, Houston)

Phil Barnett's Impact Players-
Starting at center for your Portland Trailblazers… Joel Pryzbilla? With the first overall draft pick, Greg Oden, out for the season, you can’t help but wonder how much Zach Randolph’s presence in the middle is going to be missed. Portland is trying to turn their franchise around one good guy at a time, but are they willing to sacrifice wins too?

Breakout Player: There is going to be a lot of competition for the starting position at the point guard spot this season with Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez all checking in for training camp. This kind of depth is a good thing, especially for Steve Blake. Expect him to start most of the games this season and finally get a chance to prove that he belongs on the court contributing.

Disappointing Player: The Trailblazers decided on keeping LaMarcus Aldridge instead of Zach Randolph. Aldridge is going to have to play some heavy minutes this season and is going to be counted on to produce down low. He still may a year or two away from finding his groove in the paint.

FantasyInsideronline.com Fantasy Sleeper-
Travis Outlaw, Small Forward- Travis Outlaw emerged as a dynamic player in the last month of the season. He averaged 18 points per game and was able to get 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. This coming season, he'll start the year as the small forward in the starting lineup. It isn't out of the question to expect him to average 15 points, 6 or 7 rebounds plus a steal and a block per game. He could be a steal in the later rounds of your draft.

Best-Case Scenario
With Greg Oden out for the season, it's hard to believe tha this team could make the playoffs but in the best case scenario, they will. Brandon Roy has emerged as the leader of this team in terms of production. He'll be able to help ignite this subpar offense along with fellow 2nd year player, LaMarcus Aldridge. Darius Miles will return from his chronic knee injuries and help by adding another playmaker on both ends of the floor. With Steve Blake backing up Jarret Jack, they'll form a dynamic point guard situation that allows them to push the ball and set up the rest of the team. Channing Frye will prove to be a valuable role player off the bench. The Blazers, backed by great defense and a new offensive outlook, will be able to sneak into the 8th seed of the playoffs and put up a competitive fight in the first round before losing out.

Worst Case Scenario
The Blazers have a similar season as last year only without the consistent scorer in the post that they had with Randolph. They'll struggle on offense without a go-to scorer and struggle to average 90 points per game. The young guys will continue to battle injuries as they adjust to the rough style of play in the NBA. The lack of outside shooting on this team will allow teams to key in on the inside of the offensive end of the floor and the Blazers will not be able to counter that. They'll win around 30 games again and finish with another high lottery pick.

Talkhoops.net Prediction- 3rd in Division, 12th in West
I think that the Blazers will show marked improvement this season but will still fall short of the playoffs. They built this team assuming that Greg Oden would be there all season long and without him they don't have an identity. LaMarcus Aldridge will emerge as a fantastic low post scorer and defender and try to fill in for Oden's absence. They'll continue to struggle and not be able to put together a good enough string of games to close out a playoff spot and fall out of it by the beginning of the last week.