The Portland Trail Blazers are heading into the NBA’s All-Star Break as legitimate playoff contenders. At 26-27, they’re ninth in the Western Conference—just half a game behind the No. 8 Houston Rockets—and their chances of making the postseason have seemingly increased following the (likely) season-ending foot injury to Marc Gasol.
Let me repeat this for those who are just now buying into the hype that is Trail Blazers basketball.
PORTLAND IS IN THE MIDST OF THE PLAYOFF HUNT! THIS. IS. NOT. A. DRILL.
And this is why Portland enters Wednesday’s contest against the Rockets knowing that this is arguably the biggest matchup of the team’s season thus far.
The question still remains to some: Should the Blazers cast aside their postseason thoughts in favor of a better draft pick? As far as the lottery is concerned, Portland would be taking a shot in the dark to tank. They’re far better than the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns of the world, meaning a post-All-Star tank job would only propel them a few spots higher in the draft order assuming they don’t land a top-three selection.
So let’s assume this team has no interest in losing. It’s a fair assumption considering what we’ve heard from management up to this point.
According to Baskeball-Reference.com, Portland is projected to finish ninth out West when the 2015-16 season comes to a close. Their odds to make the playoffs are 50.8 percent, barely beneath the 60 percent chance for Houston and a ways behind the 83.9 percent Basketball-Reference has given the Utah Jazz.
That number is 2.6 percentage points higher than last time, and as long as the team keeps trending in the right direction, it’ll have a shot at shocking the league less than a year after watching four-fifths of its starting lineup leave the previous offseason.
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