From an absolute strength perspective, this year's Trail Blazers far exceeded the Detroit Pistons, especially with their frontcourt lineup.
The 1980s were the era of the frontcourt players, with tall centers and swift forwards filling the three-second area. They were also capable of launching fast breaks to directly attack the basket, and championship teams all boasted impressive frontcourts.
Backcourt players, on the other hand, served more as vital supplements to the frontcourt, executing defense, orchestrating plays, and taking some set shots. Aside from oddities like Magic Johnson, most teams centered around a smaller guard struggled to make a breakthrough.
The Bucks and Pistons are typical examples, and the guard groups of the Celtics in the 60s and 70s no longer had dominance, for even the Celtics themselves were stacking their frontcourt.
The NBA's cycle of order and chaos basically alternated between "guard + center" vs "a lot of forwards + swingmen."
