After being knocked out in six games by the Portland Trail Blazers last season, let’s take a look at what next season’s matchups will look like for two teams who underwent changes in the offseason

Going into this season the Portland Trail Blazers and OKC Thunder will both have drastically different starting fives than they had last year.  Both teams are going to potentially have three new players filling in for departed starters. 

Last season, the Blazers carried a starting lineup consisting of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Moe Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Enes Kanter into the playoffs.  This season, the Blazers will be replacing their entire starting frontcourt. 

Projected Lineups:

OKC Thunder:

Chris Paul

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Andre Roberson

Danilo Gallinari

Steven Adams

Portland Trailblazers:

Damian Lillard

CJ McCollum

Kent Bazemore

Zach Collins

Hassan Whiteside

With their starting center Jusuf Nurkic going down to a brutal leg injury towards the end of the season, the Blazers decided to swing a deal this offseason to bring in Hassan Whiteside from the Miami Heat who will be replacing Enes Kanter after he signed with the Celtics this offseason. 

The Blazers lost a total of seven players this offseason, including two key starters.  Moe Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Seth Curry, Jake Layman, Enes Kanter, Evan Turner and Meyers Leonard all either signed elsewhere or were traded. 

Meyers Leonard and Harkless were effectively traded for Whiteside in a complex deal that ultimately shipped Harkless to the Clippers, and Evan Turner was traded 1-1 for Kent Bazemore who last played for the Atlanta Hawks. 

During free agency, they signed Mario Hezonja, Pau Gasol, and Anthony Tolliver, all to minimum contracts. 

None of these players are role players on a championship level team and I can only envision Anthony Tolliver providing anything of value to this team as he is a solid floor spacer for the forward position. 

The losses of Harkless and Aminu are huge as they were pretty easily their two best wing defenders last season.  Replacing them on the defensive end with a combination of Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja and Nassir Little seems like the worst-case scenario.  With the Western Conference loaded with talented wing players, you have to wonder who you’re going to put on Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and others.