46-year old Nate McMillan is back as the head coach of the Trailblazers after leading them to a 50-32 record (61%) in 2009-10. The Blazers were then knocked out 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs. McMillan has a 198-212 (48.3) record during the regular season in his four years with the Trailblazers and he is 4-8 (33.3%) in the playoffs. Like the Blazers, McMillan is improving as a coach with each passing year. I expect big things out of the Trailblazers and I have a feeling that McMillan is going to get the most out of his players in 2010-11. McMillan now owns a career record of 410-395 (50.9%) during the regular season in his career and he is 12-16 (42.9%) in the playoffs. I expect both of those win/loss percentages to go up in 2010-11.

36-year old Marcus Camby is going to be the starting center for the Blazers this year. He played in 74 games (all starts) for the Trailblazers & Clippers last season in which he averaged 31.3 minutes, 7.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocked shots per game. Camby has now played in 831 games (678 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.6 blocked shots per game. The Trailblazers expect Camby to play defense & rebound which is what he does best.

22-year old Greg Oden won’t play for the first couple months this year as he is rehabbing from another surgery. Oden played in 21 games (all starts) for the Trailblazers last season and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Oden has played in 82 games (60 starts) in his career with the Blazers and he is averaging 22.1 minutes, 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Oden is starting to remind me more every day of Sam Bowie. Bowie was the player the Blazers picked over Michael Jordan. He was a injury prone center just like Oden is, and by the way the Blazers picked Oden over Kevin Durant.

31-year old Joel Przybilla will also get a last start as he is rehabbing from surgery. Przybilla played in 30 games (9 starts) for the Trailblazers last season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 517 games (368 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.7 minutes, 4.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Przybilla is like a poor man’s Marcus Camby as his game is defense & rebounding.

Recently signed 35-year old Fabricio Oberto will be the Blazers’ #2 center until Oden or Przybilla get back from injury. Oberto played in 57 games (20 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 331 games (128 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.6 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS CENTERS IN 2010-11: B

25-year old power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is very consistent as the Blazers can count on hit for about 18 points and 8 rebounds just about every single night. Aldridge played in 78 games (all starts) for the Trailblazers last season and he averaged 37.5 minutes, 17.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Aldridge has now played in 298 games (257 starts) in his first four years with the Blazers and he has averaged 33.4 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

23-year old Dante Cunningham will backup Aldridge this year. Cunningham played in 63 games (2 starts) as a rookie for the Blazers last season and he averaged 11.2 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. I think he will be a solid backup for the Trailblazers this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B+

21-year old Nicolas Batum enters his third season in the NBA as the undisputed starting small forward for the Trailblazers. Batum played in 37 games (25 starts) for the Blazers last season and he averaged 24.8 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 116 games (101 starts) in his first two years with the Trailblazers and he has averaged 20.4 minutes, 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Batum is one of the better long range shooters on the Blazers hitting 38.7% from behind the three point arc so I expect to see his offensive numbers jump this year.

21-year old rookie Luke Babbitt came over in a draft day deal with the T-Wolves and he will back up Batum this year. Babbitt played in 34 games for Nevada last season and he averaged 37.1 minutes, 21.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Babbitt played in 68 games in his two years at Nevada and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Like Batum, Babbitt is a good long range shooter as he has hit 42.1% of this three point shots in this NBA career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C+

It all starts with Brandon Roy. He is a poor man’s D-Wade. Roy played in 65 games (all starts) for the Blazers last season and he averaged 37.2 minutes, 21.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He has now played in 274 games (272 starts) in his 4 years with the Blazers and he has averaged 37.0 minutes, 20.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The only thing that can stop Roy from ascending to being one of the very best shooting guards in the entire NBA is his health.

24-year old Wesley Matthews was signed away from the rival Utah Jazz over the summer. Matthews will back up Roy at shooting guard and he will also likely get some P.T. at small forward in 2010-11. Matthews played in 82 games (48 starts) for the Jazz in his rookie season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. I really like this addition for the Blazers as Matthews is a pretty good player with a nice upside.

25-year old Rudy Fernandez wants traded but the Blazers have not found any takers as of yet. Fernandez played in 62 games (2 starts) for the Blazers last season and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has now played in 140 games (6 starts) in his 2 years with the Trailblazers and he has averaged 24.5 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The Blazers will likely hold onto Fernandez unless they get an offer they can’t refuse because he has a nice upside.

21-year old rookie Armon Johnson can play either guard spot. He played in 34 games (all starts) at Nevada last season in which he averaged 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Johnson played in 101 games (99 starts) in his college career and he averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Johnson won’t get much P.T. as a rookie unless the Trailblazers suffer a rash of injuries to the guards.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: A