With the 2016 NBA All-Star Game officially behind us, the light at the end of the regular season tunnel is getting brighter. The Portland Trail Blazers sit in the No. 7 spot out West, which means there’s meaningful basketball to be played with the lottery no longer the ideal target.
At 27-27, Portland has exceeded most expectations set by the media and oddsmakers. Part of its current playoff positioning has to do with the Western Conference taking a clear step in the wrong direction (top three seeds excluded), but don’t discredit what the Blazers have done up to this point.
Finishing strong is now officially the goal, and there are a handful of contests to look at when identifying the team’s biggest matchups between now and the end of the season.
Utah Jazz (Sunday, Feb. 21)
Coming out of the All-Star Game, a well-rested Trail Blazers squad will open up the rest of the schedule against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. But that’s not the matchup we’re most interested in with the midseason exhibition behind us (although, more on them later).
Instead, we turn our eyes to the Feb. 21 showdown with the No. 8 Utah Jazz. The Blazers are 2-1 against them this season, and every win matters when it comes to conference foes gunning for the same playoff spots.
Houston Rockets (Thursday, Feb. 25)
Entering All-Star Weekend, the Trail Blazers faced the Houston Rockets twice in three games. Both were double-digit wins in Portland’s favor, and both are big reasons Rip City occupy the seventh spot while Clutch City is on the outside looking in as the current No. 9 seed.
On Feb. 25, the Blazers will have a chance to further separate themselves from the Rockets with a third win in a row over the team they knocked out of the 2014 postseason. The trade deadline will have come and gone by this point, so the Rockets will be in the post-Dwight Howard stage of their attempted resurgence if they’re able to find a suitor for the big man.
San Antonio Spurs (Thursday, March 17)
The Trail Blazers have seen the San Antonio Spurs twice this season. Both were double-digit losses, giving LaMarcus Aldridge the upper hand on the regular season series.
March 17 will be Damian Lillard’s last chance to get a win over his former teammate this year. Except here’s the thing: It might not be.
This contest is about far more than revenge; it’s about seeing how you stack up against a team that you could legitimately face in the postseason. If the playoffs started today, the No. 7 Blazers would face off against the No. 2 Spurs.
There’s a lot of basketball to play, and there’s no telling how things will ultimately conclude. But if Portland is gunning for a spot in the playoffs, playing well against elite competition (nonetheless elite competition you could face in Round 1) is a must.
Golden State Warriors (Sunday, April 3)
This is an important game for the Blazers with playoff seeding in mind. But here’s the catch: Even Portland fans will be watching this game for an entirely different reason.
Golden State will likely be on the cusp of breaking the NBA record for wins in a season by the time April 3 comes around, and with every contest at that point threatening the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, Blazers fans should tune in to watch Stephen Curry and crew defy logic and strive for greatness.
Denver Nuggets (Wednesday, April 13)
It’s cliche, it’s simple and it’s a bit of a repeat of what we’ve already hit.
But it’s also accurate.
The final game of the season will almost certainly have monumental meaning to the three teams fighting for the final two spots out West.
With Portland in a tight race with the Rockets and Jazz, it could all come down to a season finale against Will Barton and the Rich and Creamy Nuggets.
Denver has shown flashes this season but has been inconsistent at best. A home contest against the NBA’s Rocky Mountain Representatives won’t be on the league’s casual fans’ radars, but if a postseason spot is up for grabs, you’d better believe Rip City will have its collective eyeballs all over the Moda Center until the clock strikes 0:00.
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