HoopsHype.com Offers 2012-13 Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview

HoopsHype.com has posted its season preview for the 2012-13 Portland Trail Blazers.

STRENGTHS:
Powerful forward combo with All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge and French do-it-all swingman Nicolas Batum ... Aldridge is one of the most productive big men offensively in the NBA and Batum has some All-Star potential ... Rookie guard Damian Lillard will be a player to keep an eye on based on what we have seen so far ... Portland has a solid starting shooting guard inWesley Matthews, whose durability and attitude is out of the question ... Pretty athletic starting five ... Blazers have good potential as a fast-break team now.

WEAKNESSES:
No depth whatsoever ... New head coach Terry Stotts will have to throw young and unproven players into the fire and hope they can bring something to the table ... Who's going to score in the second unit? ... Who's going to make stops? ... Too many new faces ... The franchise doesn't seem to be in win-now mode ... Emphasis will be put on developing the team's young talent rather than getting wins ... Rebounding will likely remain an issue unless Aldridge steps up in that area ... Doubts about playmaking ... Lillard was mostly a scorer in college and Nolan Smith has yet to prove he's a legit NBA player ... Extremely tough division ... Who's going to emerge as a leader for a squad stacked with young players?

PROJECTION:
5th in the Northwest Division / 11th in the Western Conference

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter