Wizenheimer wrote:right now, the Blazers are tied with Indiana for the 8th spot in the lottery. I don't expect the Blazers to end with a better record then Indiana, nor do I really expect them to end up with better records then any of the 21 teams with better records now
on the other hand, the 7 teams worse then Portland look like they will remain so
so, I'd bet on Portland being either 8 or 9 when the lottery rolls around. Very likely to be in the top-10. Less likely to move into the top-7
I don't know about that. It's still crazy early to make any call about the Top 10 (for the most part) imo. Young teams can sometimes go on little runs mid and late season when better teams are coasting.
The teams that I think is clearly locked for a Top 5 pick is Washington. That team is insanely bad. So far, the Raptors (or OKC) looks like they're pretty much destined for a Top 5 pick too.
I'd also say the Kings will probably stay firmly in the Top 5. They're such a wildly selfish team and the franchise is in complete disarray, so I don't expect them to get any better.
I think Cleveland can get on a roll once Irving gets back and gets the rust off. If Varejao stays healthy and keeps playing out of his mind, they're going to be in for a better mid and late season.
I think New Orleans can also get on a roll if/when Davis ever gets healthy. With a healthy Davis, they'll get some surprise wins as the season goes on.
Orlando is a wild-card. It's impossible to tell where that team is going to end up. They won't be a playoff team obviously, but they're potent enough offensively that they can win games that should have no business being in.
Anyhow, I could see the Blazers ending up Top 7 by the time things are done. I don't expect the starting 5 to stay totally healthy all year long and if one of those 5 go down, things are going to get really bad.
Get ready to learn Chinese buddy... #YangBang