After an injury-marred year and a soft-first round exit, the Trail Blazers enter the 2010/2011 season under the radar. But, if healthy, they are the one team in the West who could dethrone LA.

Since the Pau Gasol heist of 2008, the Lakers have dominated the West. In a moment, one of the most competitive conferences in league history (all ’08 playoff teams won 50 games) became one of the most one-sided.

For the first time since Bill Russell’s Celtics in the 60′s, a team has a chance to win four straight conference titles. LA has been the #1 seed in the West the last three seasons and rolled through the playoffs with a 36-13 record against conference foes.

But, in looking at their struggles against Boston in the NBA Finals and their surprising seven-game series against an undermanned Houston squad in ’09, there is a blue-print to beat them. And Portland, more than any other team in the West, has it.

1) The Blazers can match up with the Lakers’ height.

Portland’s length inside.

The Lakers trio of near seven footers sets them apart from nearly every other team in the league, combining size inside (Bynum), skill outside (Odom) and a mixture of both (Gasol). Boston could counter with matching big men — an interior brick wall in Kendrick Perkins and a mobile big man who could still mix it up inside in Kevin Garnett. Portland, when healthy, has three effective interior defenders — Camby, Oden and Pryzbilla — as well as a mobile 6’11 big man in Aldridge who can step out and guard Odom.

2) The Blazers have a long-armed and quick defender who can stay in front of Kobe Bryant.

Batum giving Kobe trouble in the two teams last regular season meeting of 2010.

Bryant, as he ages, has become increasingly reliant on his jumper.  Over the years, Shane Battier of the Rockets has consistently been a thorn in Kobe’s side by sliding his feet, not buying any pump-fakes and keeping a hand in his face on jumpers. A spry 6’8 21 year old with a 7’4 wingspan, Batum fits that prototype. He helped frustrate Kobe to 8-23 shooting in the game featured on that clip.

3) The Blazers have point guards who can take advantage of Derek Fisher.

Point-guard penetration.

Asides from flopping and taking charges, at 36, Derek Fisher has long-since reached his expiration date defensively. Speedy point guards like Houston’s Aaron Brooks can go around him like a traffic cone, to the point where the Lakers were forced to put Kobe on Rajon Rondo in the Finals. In Jerryd Bayless and Andre Miller, Portland has two point guards who can create their own shot.

4) The Blazers have an All-Star, shot-creating guard of their own.

Roy going around Artest in the 2009 Portland/Houston first-round series.

Brandon Roy is one of the most underrated players in the league, and he presents a unique match-up problem for the Lakers. They can’t afford to have Kobe exert too much energy on defense, while Ron Artest is more suited to defend bulkier wing scorers like Carmelo and not guys who relies on quickness like Roy. After toasting him for 27 points on 46% shooting in their 2009 first-round series, Artest called Roy the best player he ever faced.

The other top teams in the West lack at least one of these key ingredients. The Thunder, Nuggets, Suns and Jazz are too small, while the Mavs and the Spurs lack athleticism on the wings. The Rockets, who have given LA fits over the years, have injury problems that make Portland’s pale in comparison.

Of course this all depends on the Blazers recovery from a myriad of injuries – most importantly Roy’s knee surgery and Oden’s inability to stay on the court.

But history is on their side. There’s a reason no team has played in four straight NBA Finals. The Lakers core has put more miles on their bodies than anyone else in the league in the last three years, playing the equivalent of an extra full season with 67 playoff games, as well as extensive international play for Kobe, Gasol and Odom.

At some point, injury (in particular Andrew Bynum’s trouble-some knees) or plain bad luck (a bad bounce like Derek Fisher’s .4 shot going against them) is bound to hit the Lakers in the 2011 Western Conference Playoffs. And no team is better positioned than Portland to take advantage.