What stands in the way of the Portland Trail Blazers?
With only one week left of seeding games before playoffs, the team that has been by far the most fun to watch for me in the bubble is the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sure, T.J. Warren and Michael Porter Jr. have hogged the headlines, but Rip City and their crew have been the fiercest bunch I’ve seen. Everyone is fully healthy, the team looks more complete than they have in a long time, and with the neutral site throughout the playoffs, Portland can easily make noise when it comes down to it.
Although they have looked strong throughout the seeding games, a few obstacles still stand in Portland’s way.
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The Portland Trail Blazers’ obstacles
The Blazers are currently 4-2 in the bubble after a great win Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, featuring a 51-point performance from Damian Lillard. Two games remain now for the Blazers before seeding games are over as they take on the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
With the Blazers win, the Pelicans and Kings were officially eliminated from playoff contention. The Grizzlies still sit on the 8th seed, with Portland 0.5 games behind them, the Spurs one game behind, and Suns 1.5 games behind.
The Grizzlies will have to finish the seeding games against Boston and Milwaukee, and without injured Jaren Jackson, Jr., I don’t see Memphis holding onto the 8th spot by the end of the week, and quite honestly could fall out of the play-in picture altogether.
The Suns are also red hot, with a 5-0 record in the bubble their remaining schedule consists of Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and Dallas, no games that can be taken lightly. Two wins can guarantee the Blazers a spot as either the 8 or 9 seed in the play-in tournament, but a loss or even two losses can make things very dicey for Portland.
The depth
A fully healthy Blazers team is built to make a run deep into the playoffs, and as I believe, if injuries to Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic didn’t occur and they had Carmelo Anthony from the start of the season, the Blazers would probably be sitting on a 5th or 6th spot in the West right now.
Regardless, they are by far the strongest team fighting for that last spot in the playoffs. Nurkic and Collins provide solid scoring and a fierce low post presence, while Carmelo’s mid-range scoring compliments McCollum and Lillard’s long-range clips perfectly. The Achilles heel for the last several years in Portland has been another scoring force to take the ease off of Lillard and McCollum, and that’s exactly what Melo brings.
Dame and C.J. are by far one of the best backcourts in the entire league (and my personal favorites to watch). But a huge difference can be felt with the development of Nurkic and Collins as the rim protectors, something the Blazers have been lacking consistently since LaMarcus Aldridge left for San Antonio back in 2015. A second-tier led by Hassan Whiteside, Gary Trent Jr., and Anfernee Simons has been able to provide quality minutes and give the main core breaks while holding down the fort. Simons is beginning to come into his own as a premier playmaker and Trent’s lethal 3-point shooting has given opponents nightmares.
If the Blazers are even able to land the 9 seed and confirm a play-in series with the Grizzlies, Suns, or whoever it may be, I like Portland’s chances a lot. And again, all these teams are fighting for the chance to match up with LeBron and the Lakers in a 1 vs. 8 opening series. If anyone can knock The King off his throne in a neutral court upset, it’s Lillard and Rip City.