Everything looks good in Portlandia, but are the Blazers for real? - a podcast by Kurt Helin, NBC Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers are hot out of the gate: 9-3, including a big win over Milwaukee (which turned around and beat Golden State), with the third best net rating in the league and Damian Lillard playing like an MVP candidate. But I hear what you're saying, "We've seen this movie before and it ends in a first round exit." What is different this time around? Have the Blazers matured and are they ready for the next step? Kurt Helin of NBC Sports put those questions to Dane Delgado of NBC Sports Northwest — where he does the fantastic video breakdown series — and the answer, oddly enough, is that Evan Turner (and Zach Collins) can be part of a different outcome in Portland this year. Kurt and Dane also tackle your questions on what is going on with the Thunder to start the season, how big a disaster are the Wizards, and who else should be mentioned in the too-early MVP discussion.

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