The Portland Trail Blazers are gearing up for the start of a new NBA season, with training camp just around the corner. Portland has used this offseason to build a more competitive roster, even though the team is in danger of finding itself at the bottom of the Western Conference again.
Portland has a talented young team, which gives them hope for the future. Watching the overall growth of the young players will be the main focus this season for the team.
Players like Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, and Donovan Clingan are all players to watch this season for the Trail Blazers. Each of them will likely be part of the core group moving forward, so the organization will have access to their development.
In the new NBA schedule that was unveiled last week, the Trail Blazers were at a disadvantage in one area. While the team has fewer back-to-back games and shorter travel times, it will be moving along the border. Most miles traveled across the NBA this season.
“As you might guess if you’ve ever seen a map of the continental United States, the Trail Blazers typically have to travel more than most teams, and this year they’ve traveled about 50,000 miles, the most miles traveled by any team this season. The Western Conference average is 45,000 miles traveled, and the fewest miles traveled by a Western team this season is 41,000 miles.”
Still, it’s not the worst thing in the world for the Trail Blazers. Travel is a lot easier than it used to be, and most teams would be doing more miles than back-to-back games.
Portland is on a 13-game winning streak this season, one fewer than last year. The league average for consecutive games is 14.9, so the Trail Blazers are getting away with fewer than most teams in the league.
The Trail Blazers will play four consecutive games in November, three in January and three in March. It appears they will play most of them in specific months.
This schedule should be considered a win for Portland and now that it’s out, basketball is upon us. The Trail Blazers will open the season at home against the Golden State Warriors on October 23.
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