2018-19 NBA Preview: Power ranking the bubble playoff teams in the Western Conference Playoffs

#7 Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers were able to re-sign Nurkic to a deal

The Trail Blazers' retrospectively disastrous summer of 2016 will unleash the full force of the blows that their cap space has suffered on their on-court results this season, in my estimation.

Paying the likes of Evan Turner, Mo Harkless, Myers Leonard and Allen Crabbe such high long-term salaries has crippled their cap space flexibility, and they have been unable to surround franchise players Lillard and McCollum with anything other than middling talent.

The Blazers were able to re-sign Nurkic to a deal that represents his value far better than the deals they gave the aforementioned players this summer.

But that still leaves Seth Curry as their major offseason acquisition - not a good sign when teams above and below them in pure talent pool terms last season have all made some kind of improvement to their rosters.

Knowing CJ and Dame, the Blazers are going to go all out throughout the season, and given the fact that Lillard has yet to miss the playoffs, there is cause for optimism among their fanbase.

But as of now, they are at a disadvantage with a number of competing teams and will finish outside of the playoff berths in my estimation.