“Elite Teams Have Three Bonafide Scorers”- Former Blazers Legend Says They Need a Third Guy

The Portland Trail Blazers sported one of their strongest rosters in recent years over the course of the 2019 season. But that was still not enough for them to make a strong playoff run. They fell in the first round to the eventual champions, Los Angeles Lakers, losing 1-4.

Therefore, a former franchise legend in Terry Porter still believes that the team needs another scorer. He implies Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are proven, but that’s not enough.

Carmelo Anthony was the ‘third guy’ for the Blazers last season, but Porter doesn’t seem to be too confident about him. He said, “You look in the West, the elite teams have three bonafide scorers. Three guys who can go out and get you 20 a night.

“I dunno who the Blazers have as their third guy. I know they got two guys, cause those two guys have proven they can go out and get you buckets. They’re still gonna need that third guy, cause when they go against the elite teams in the regular season you can get by.

“But when you go head to head against the elite teams in the playoffs, now it becomes a huge factor with regards to how you’re going to be able to guard those guys but also how they’re going to be able to be productive.”

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Will the Blazers have a better season next year?

Heading into the upcoming season, the West is only getting tougher. The Blazers barely made it as the eighth seed last season, and it could very well be an uphill battle yet again.

Out of the 8 teams that qualified, at least 6 would most likely make it again. The Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, Rockets, and the Mavericks.

But the Grizzlies, Pelicans, and the Suns who didn’t make it last season are young teams that look like they have a solid campaign ahead of them.

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If all player options are accepted and if the Blazers guarantee Trevor Ariza’s full salary, they will only have $2m in cap space. They can bring back Hassan Whiteside with bird rights, but they will still be unable to get a “third guy” as Terry Porter said.

Melo’s return seems like a safe bet, but apart from that, the Blazers don’t look like they can improve a lot from the previous season. A lower-seed playoff battle is likely to follow.