Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guard Damian Lillard has had his share of bold proclamations.

Last year, with a depleted roster that saw every starter leave for a different destination – Wesley Matthews to Dallas, Nicolas Batum to Charlotte, LaMarcus Aldridge to San Antonio and Robin Lopez to New York – the 6-foot star said his goal was to reach the playoffs.

While the idea seemed laughable at the time since the Blazers were slated to be part of the pit of the Western Conference, the team had 44 wins and a fifth place in the standings by season's end. They then took out the L.A. Clippers in four games straight after trailing by two games in the first round of the playoffs.

New year, same core

This season, with a much-more familiar core and the emergence of C.J. McCollum, the Blazers have put the league on notice as their point guard-shooting guard one-two punch can go toe-to-toe with the league's best.

Lillard was not afraid to put another lofty goal in his crosshairs at the start of this season.

“This year I want to get to the Western Conference finals and give ourselves a chance to get to the [NBA] Finals,” Lillard told J.A. Adande of ESPN. “I think it's possible.”

With the Warriors and Spurs as gatekeepers of the west, the Blazers and Grizzlies are two of the teams that are likely to emerge as contenders throughout the season.

Getting the added experience of playoff basketball has given Lillard faith in his team's future.

“We learned we had some fight in us,” said Lillard. “We wanted it. We could've easily laid down, even against Golden State. We could've said: ‘All right, we got out of the first round… this [Warriors] team lost nine games.' We could have laid down, but we didn't.”

McCollum – along young contributors Allen Crabbe, Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard – have received hefty contract extensions to go with last season's effort. Even head coach Terry Stotts received an extension, cementing his role with this team.

With a much more familiar roster, it won't be long before the Blazers get a fighting chance at cracking the Western Conference finals — from there, anything can happen.