By Ben Arthur|
After last summer, many thought that the Portland Trail Blazers should kiss any hopes of going to the playoffs goodbye. They lost four of their five starters from a year ago in the off-season: Nicolas Batum was dealt to Charlotte, wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez signed lucrative deals with other teams. All-Star Forward LaMarcus Aldridge bought a one-way ticket to San Antonio in the July Free Agency period.
But with a five point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last Wednesday, the Blazers have done the unlikely. They’ve proved those that doubted wrong as they clinched a playoff berth.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are the first team in NBA history to lose at least three players from the previous season who logged 1,000 or more minutes and still make the post-season.
“We believed in ourselves,” Lillard told Blazers’ Cody Sharrett. “We’ve played through the tough times, we didn’t get too high off of the good times, and here we are. We finally got our spot and our work still isn’t done.”
Lillard is right. There is still work to do.
The Blazers currently sit at the five seed in the West, but the fifth through seventh spots are still up for grabs. Portland is just a half a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and one-and-a-half games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.
Portland needs to win their last two regular season games to secure the fifth spot. If they drop one of those games and Memphis wins all three of their remaining games, the Blazers would drop to six. Dallas is the wild card because if they win their last three games and Portland drops one, then the Mavs can jump from seventh to fifth by season’s end. In the scenario that all three teams finish the season with the same record, Dallas would be fifth because they own the tiebreaker. Portland would be sixth and Memphis would finish seventh.
In other words, the Blazers have to take care of business. They’ve had the upper hand in the season series against the two teams left on their schedule (3-0 against the Timberwolves, 2-1 against the Nuggets) so two W’s are important to lock a more favorable playoff match-up: A date with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The last four seasons for the Clippers have been defined by disappointment and unfilled potential. Although they have made the Playoffs the last four years, the longest streak in their franchise history, a Western Conference Finals appearance is yet to happen. All-star forward Blake Griffin recently returned to the team on April 3 after a three-month absence. The Clips are tasked to get him back in shape and into the flow of the offense by the time Playoffs start on April 16. These two factors give the Blazers a chance to upset Los Angeles in the 4-5 matchup.
With a win Saturday over Minnesota, the Blazers’ worst case scenario would be for Portland to drop down to the six seed and match-up against the third seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. They split the season series with OKC, but the tandem of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant is always dangerous. The Thunder missed the playoffs in 2015 with one-man show in Westbrook. With a healthy Durant back in the fold and the emergence of Center Enes Kanter (Put up the first 30 point-20 rebound game in Thunder/Sonics history. Coincidentally, against the Blazers), the Thunder have the potential to challenge the Warriors and Spurs for the Western Conference title.
It makes sense for the Blazers to win their last two regular season games. Finish the season strong by winning to match-up against the team that gives you the best chance of advancing to the second round.
But Portland has already made history. It’s unprecedented for a team to have lost four starters and still make the Playoffs the following year. The Blazers have done that.
So regardless of who they end up facing in the first round, the Blazers will give it their all. They weren’t supposed to make it in the first place.
Contact Sports Writer Ben Arthur by email at arthur17@up.edu or on twitter @KingArthur_425.
