Can Blazers Finish Above .500 This Season?

The Portland Trail Blazers have finished under .500 in two of the past three seasons after six straight seasons of finishing above .500.

But with the additions of Jerami Grant, Gary Payton II and rookie Shaedon Sharpe along with everyone returning from injury, there’s reason to believe that the team can finish with more wins than losses in 2022-23.

DraftKings Sportsbook places the Blazers right at the 40.5 win mark for the upcoming season.

Out of all the teams in the Western Conference listed (Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers weren’t revealed amidst trade rumors), eight teams were projected to finish with more wins than the Blazers. If we assume the Jazz are trading Donovan Mitchell, they will likely fall below the Blazers and the Lakers would likely finish ahead of Portland regardless of who they acquire.

This places the Blazers right smack dab in play-in territory, where it feels the team has lived for the past few seasons.

Here’s to hoping Vegas is wrong and that the Blazers hammer the over on wins this season.