Recently, well-known NBA analyst Hollinger wrote in The Athletic that the Trail Blazers may not be able to get the 34.5 wins or so that they were projected to get before the start of the season.

The original article is below:

For a young team that won 36 games last season and went 23-18 in the second half of the season, 34.5 or so down the stretch isn't too hard, right?

Not necessarily so. There are two major concerns behind the Blazers' stellar second half last season. First, the Blazers were relatively fortunate in terms of net rating, as they ranked only 22nd in the league, which would normally only translate to 33 wins. Second, the team's offseason adjustments weakened an already weak offense, and also weakened what should have been a pretty good defense.

The Blazers paid Simmons for Jrue Holliday and also bought out Ayton's contract, but didn't bring in other players to fill in. Simmons certainly has his flaws, but is undoubtedly the most talented offensive player in the Blazers' lineup; Ayton is maddening, but has a high scoring rate for a center, hitting 59.4% of his two-point shots.

Who is the team going to rely on to score in the new season? Holliday was only 18.1 points per 100 possessions last season and wasn't very efficient. Given that Holliday has struggled to handle full-time point guard duties, Henderson will shoulder the burden.

The Blazers' current centerpiece is undoubtedly Afridia, who was outstanding last season and deserves more attention, but he also seems to be the most talent-poor core player in the league today and is very far removed from the rest of the core. Additionally, reinforcements on the offensive end are extremely limited, with Sheldon Sharp being the player most likely to create opportunities and the Blazers using the mid-level exception on Lillard. Portland has youthful energy and a good defense, but the resources available are not nearly enough in the competitive West.