I will remind you that the following year the Trailblazers were on a terrific tear and were destroying teams until Walton got hurt. Then it was over.
I dispute the word, "destroying." For one thing, the NBA wasn't terribly strong that year as a weak Seattle team won over other West teams like Phoenix and Denver that mounted huge win totals, not to mention Portland. So, I'm a little suspicious of using the win totals that year for anything. For another, Walton's injury can't be that big of an excuse as Kareem also missed a quarter of the season.