When Lamarcus Aldridge left Portland this summer, many people probably dismissed the entire Trailblazers team for fantasy purposes.  That would be a mistake.  Although the loss will hurt the actual team, it may be a huge blessing for the remaining players on the team in terms of fantasy value.  Along with Aldridge, they also lose Wes Matthews, Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum.  What that means first off is that Damian Lillard is now option number one for Terry Stotts and should see a huge uptick in scoring.  Last season without Aldridge and Batum on the floor Lillard’s usage rate was 31.8, which would put him in the top five of the NBA.  It would not be a huge upset to see him lead the league in scoring.

Outside of Lillard, Portland will likely start C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis and Mason Plumlee.  McCollum becomes an interesting option in terms of shooting and scoring stats, as Lillard is likely to see a ton of defensive attention.  Portland has also said McCollum will run the point when Lillard sits, giving him a bump in assists.

Aminu has always been a solid source of rebounds, steals and blocks from the small forward spot while not hurting you in any category.

Davis may be the most interesting of the bunch.  He has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, but has never been able to see steady minutes.  If he can lock down a starting spot and over 30 minutes a game, do not be surprised to see Davis average a near double-double with the possibility of almost two blocks per night.

Finally, Mason Plumlee has been given a new starting gig after being a spot starter for Brook Lopez last year.  Much like Davis, it would not be surprising to see Plumlee average a near double-double with a few blocks at the price of a low round pick, though Plumlee's value is capped by his terrible free throw shooting.