Matthes Manifesto II: The Western Conference
The Memphis Grizzlies
Potentially no player in the entire NBA is more overlooked than Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley Jr. Always picked over for All-Star teams and All-NBA teams, Conley only responds by excelling on both offense and defense. His only weakness is his health.
The Grizzlies climbing to ninth is contingent on Conley being healthy. He and Marc Gasol create a dynamic duo, dynamic enough that they have a real shot at making the playoffs. Especially when paired with a knock-down shooter like Garrett Temple and the lanky Kyle Anderson.
The hill Memphis needs to climb is steep. There are a lot of teams battling for the same couple spots. One benefit of the Grizzlies’ recent struggles was that young players like Wayne Selden, Dillon Brooks and JaMychal Green all got meaningful minutes last year and will be more ready to contribute this season.
Draft pick Jaren Jackson Jr. gives them a stretchy big that can play off both Conley and Gasol. But, growth and wins will not happen without their overlooked star shining this year. They dearly need Conley to be healthy.
The Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers were the third seed in last year’s playoffs. There is a lot pulling against Portland this year.
First, past over-spending came back to roost during this past offseason. Portland has a combined $39.3M committed Meyers Leonard, Evan Turner and Maurice Harkless.
Their sky-high payroll put Portland in the terrible position of not being able to improve and it forced them to say goodbye to key bench players like Ed Davis, Pat Connaughton and Shabazz Napier. Second, the West as a whole improved, both with incoming players and from stars returning from injury. It’s not like there was much margin for error last year, all that separated Portland from missing the playoffs was three games.
Third, The Blazers find themselves in the NBA’s toughest division. The odds are just stacked against Portland to make the playoffs this year, let alone be the third seed.
That said, Damian Lillard is a superstar. C.J. McCollum is almost guaranteed 20 points a game. Al-Farouq Aminu can defend across multiple spots. Jusuf N.urkic is strong offensively and Zach Collins showed promise as last season progressed.
The Blazers have a good team. For them to reach the heights they need to hit on all of their unheralded free agent signing (again). Can lighting strike twice? If not, Portland will be on the outside looking in come late April.