46-year old head coach Nate McMillan really has the Trailblazers going in the right direction. The Blazers were 48-34 (58.5%) during the regular season and 2-4 (33.3%) in the playoffs last year. McMillan now has a 246-246 (50%) record during the regular season in his six years in charge for the Blazers. He is also 6-12 (33.3%) during the playoffs in his time with the Blazers. McMillan now has a career record of 458-429 (51.6%) during the regular season and he is 14-20 (41.2%) during the playoffs. The Blazers need McMillan to help them do better in the playoffs, but he is consistently getting them there and that’s a good thing.

25-year old power forward LaMarcus Aldridge really stepped up for the Trailblazers last year. He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Blazers last year and he averaged 39.6 minutes, 21.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 379 games (338 starts) in his first five years with the Blazers and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Aldridge has now proven that he can be a true building block for the Trailblazers going forward.