30 Teams in 30 Days: Portland Trail Blazers

We resume our "30 Teams in 30 Days" series of all 30 NBA teams by making the trek north to Portland, where we'll talk an inside look at the Trail Blazers and their plans to pick up where they left off from last season's playoff run.

Last season's record: 54-28(2nd in Northwest Division/5th in Western Conference; Def. HOU 4-2 in First Round; Lost to SA 4-1 in Western Conference Semi-finals)

Head Coach: Terry Stotts(7th season, 202-245 overall; 87-77 in 3 seasons with POR)

Arena: Moda Center(19,980)

Website: trailblazers.com

In only his second season as Blazers head coach, Terry Stotts knew that he wanted to get his team to be a strong, young, yet competitive team in the Northwest Division last season, and he would count on Dame Lillard to lead the way for Portland in their quest to get back into playoff mode.  The Blazers would battle it out with Oklahoma City back and forth to see who will claim the Northwest Division crown, and when it came to the end, OKC captured the title, but Portland did get the 2nd spot in the division, finishing with a 54-28 record, and landing the 5th overall seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The first round turned out to be an entertaining one, as Portland squared off against the Houston Rockets, coming down to a decisive Game 6 at the Moda Center, which saw Lillard's buzzer beater lifting them into Round 2 against the San Antonio Spurs, who in turn, eliminated Portland in 5 games, as San Antonio would eventually go on to win it all in last year's NBA Finals.

It's a new season in "Rip City", and the Blazers are ready to make another deep run this season, so look out for Portland to once again be a tough team to beat in the Northwest Division this season.

Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series:

• Wednesday: Minnesota Timberwolves
• Thursday: Memphis Grizzlies
• Friday: Indiana Pacers
• Saturday: Chicago Bulls
• Sunday: Milwaukee Bucks
• Monday: Detroit Pistons
• Next Tuesday: Cleveland Cavaliers