PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers won their 50th game of the season on Wednesday night, the 14th time the Blazers have won 50 games or more in a season since they joined the NBA in 1970.
That's an impressive feat and like head coach Terry Stotts said after the game, it should be celebrated. Winning 50 games in the midst of injuries to two of the team's three best players is worthy of praise. Reaching 50 wins in this season's ultra-talented Western Conference is an incredible accomplishment.
There's more to be done, though. The Blazers have four games left, including two in a row against the Denver Nuggets, followed by contests against the Lakers and Kings.
There's little room for error. Portland is in fourth place in the West, a half-game behind third-place Houston and two games behind second-place Denver. Meanwhile, the fifth-place Utah Jazz are two games behind the Blazers and have won six in a row. Nothing is settled and Portland needs every win it can get before the end of the season.
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The Blazers own the tiebreaker with Houston, having defeated the Rockets in two of the three games the teams played this season. The Jazz own the tiebreaker with Portland. Even though the teams split their four games this season, Utah currently owns the tiebreaker because they have a better division record (7-8) than the Blazers (5-9). The same is true of the Nuggets. Even if the Blazers win both games against Denver to even the season series at two games apiece, the Nuggets would own the tiebreaker because they'd still have a better division record (would be 10-4 in that scenario) than Portland (7-9 in that scenario).
Here's a look at the remaining schedules for all four teams.
DENVER (52-26)
Remaining schedule strength: No. 5 (via Tankathon)
Home-away: 2/2
Back-to-backs: 1
- Friday: vs. Portland (50-28)
- Sunday: at Portland (50-28)
- Tuesday: at Utah (48-30)
- Wednesday: vs. Minnesota (35-43)
HOUSTON (51-28)
Remaining schedule strength: No. 30
Home-away: 2/1
Back-to-backs: 0
- Friday: vs. New York (15-63)
- Sunday: vs. Phoenix (18-61)
- Tuesday: at Oklahoma City (45-33)
PORTLAND (50-28)
Remaining schedule strength: No. 9
Home-away: 2/2
Back-to-backs: 1
- Friday: at Denver (52-26)
- Sunday: vs. Denver (52-26)
- Tuesday: at LA Lakers (35-43)
- Wednesday: vs. Sacramento (38-40)
UTAH (48-30)
Remaining schedule strength: No. 11
Home-away: 2/2
Back-to-backs: 1
- Friday: vs. Sacramento (38-40)
- Sunday: at LA Lakers (35-43)
- Tuesday: vs. Denver (52-26)
- Wednesday: at LA Clippers (47-32)
This week's questions focus on how the Blazers have performed without Jusuf Nurkic, the best and worst potential playoff opponents for Portland, and predictions for the final four games of the season.
KGW's Orlando Sanchez is in Tampa, Florida covering the Oregon Ducks' first appearance in the women's Final Four, so he wasn't able to join KGW's Nate Hanson and Jared Cowley on this week's podcast.
1. What are your impressions of the Blazers without Nurkic? Have they swayed your opinion about what this team can do in the postseason?
Jared: The Blazers deserve a lot of credit. Portland is 4-1 since Jusuf Nurkic was injured and 8-1 since CJ McCollum was hurt. Considering how close the race is for homecourt advantage, those wins are extremely valuable. Portland's schedule has definitely been easy during this stretch, with only one of those five games against a team with a record of .500 or better, but Portland deserves credit for winning the games they're supposed to. As for the playoffs, I'm still unsure, because we haven't seen this team compete against a Western Conference postseason-level opponent without Nurkic. The next two games against Denver will be a good barometer of what to expect from this team once the playoffs start. I'll reserve judgment until after those two games. I'm also intrigued by the center tandem of Enes Kanter and Zach Collins. Together, those two are averaging about 28 points and 16 rebounds since Nurkic was hurt. Kanter is playing about 27 minutes and Collins 21 since Nurkic's injury, with Collins earning fourth-quarter closing minutes for his defense. I'm curious to see if those two will be as productive in the next two games against Denver, which would bode well for the playoffs.
Nate: This is difficult to judge because of the opponents the Blazers have played since Nurkic has been out. Only one, Detroit, may make the playoffs and the Blazers struggled against the Pistons. But it was also the second game of a road back-to-back. At the very least, it’s been encouraging to see other role players step up offensively. Enes Kanter, Rodney Hood and Seth Curry have all chipped in to fill Nurkic’s void on that end of the floor. And credit to Lillard, he’s continued to put trust in those guys and has averaged nearly eight assists per game during this stretch. Defensively, it’s been a small sample size, but the Blazers have been top 10 in defensive rating. Kanter’s defensive rating has improved significantly from 113.3 when Nurkic was healthy to 96.2 in the five games since he’s been out. But again, the competition has not been elite. Last week, I said I don’t think the Blazers can win a playoff series without Nurkic. Now, I could see Portland winning a first-round series against either the Spurs or Clippers.
2. Speaking of the postseason, we’ll know in a week who the Blazers will be playing in the first round of the playoffs. Which potential opponent do you think would be the best for Portland? The worst?
Nate: I think the Clippers would be the best matchup for the Blazers. The Clippers lack a true go-to star player and in the postseason having that type of player matters more. The Clippers’ roster is also filled with players who lack postseason experience. I think those two factors could help a short-handed Blazers team get out of the first round. My biggest concern with the Clippers is they are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league, however, they are among league low in attempts per game. I still think the worst matchup for Portland is Oklahoma City. I know the Thunder have struggled down the stretch, but I can’t get over the season sweep and how Paul George and Russell Westbrook dominated Portland offensively. The good news for the Blazers is Oklahoma City’s late season plummet makes it unlikely the two teams match up in the first round.
Jared: Realistically, the Blazers will play either the Rockets, Jazz or Clippers. Since the All-Star break, the Jazz rank first in net rating, the Rockets second and the Clippers seventh. They're all good teams. Houston is the scariest opponent. They're playing at such a high level right now and their pick-and-roll game would exploit the Blazers' defensive weaknesses with Enes Kanter at center. The "best" opponent is probably the Clippers. They've played better than expected since trading Tobias Harris to the 76ers, but I don't trust them in the playoffs. Danilo Gallinari hasn't been to the postseason since 2012. In 12 career playoff games, Gallinari has played poorly, averaging 12.8 points and shooting 29 percent from the 3-point line, well below his regular-season averages. Surprisingly, Lou Williams has also been a subpar playoff performer, shooting 38 percent from the field, 25 percent from the 3-point line, and averaging just 11.2 points in 52 playoff appearances. Montrezl Harrell has been to the playoffs twice, but only played 33 total minutes in seven games, totaling as many fouls in those minutes as points (eight). The Clippers start two rookie guards. If the Blazers end up matched up with the Clippers, that looks like a good matchup for Portland.
3. The Blazers play their last four games of the regular season before we meet next week. At Denver on Friday, vs. Denver at Moda on Sunday, at the Lakers on Tuesday and at home vs. Sacramento on Wednesday. Which games do the Blazers win?
Nate: This is difficult to predict but I think Portland goes 3-1. I’ll say Denver takes down the Blazers on Friday, but Portland gets revenge Sunday at home and against a less-motivated Nuggets team. I think playoff seeding is going to be on the line every game the rest of the season for the Blazers, so I don’t see them resting players, at least extensively. With that in mind, I’m going to pick Portland to beat both the Lakers and Sacramento. They finish the season 53-29, far better than I predicted at the beginning of the season.
Jared: The Nuggets are stumbling down the stretch, losing four of their past seven, albeit against a challenging schedule. They have wins against the Thunder, Spurs and Pistons during that stretch, but also lost to the Pacers by 36 points, the Rockets by 27, and the Warriors by 14 (it wasn't that close). They also lost to the Wizards by five (ouch). Their final four games are against the Blazers (twice), the Jazz and the Timberwolves. They're in real danger of fumbling away the No. 2 seed if they don't right the ship. They have to hope they can build on Wednesday's impressive 28-point win against the Spurs. I'll pick the Blazers to split these two games against Denver, with each team winning on its home court. I'll pick the Blazers to win their last two games of the season. Both the Lakers and Kings should be more motivated to improve their lottery odds right now than win games. The Blazers finish out the season with 53 wins and 29 losses.
Orlando: My prediction. Blazers lose both games to the Nuggets (season sweep), but bounce back with wins over the Lakers and Kings. 52-win season.
SEASON PREDICTION RECORDS
- Jared: 44-27
- Orlando: 43-28
- Nate: 42-29
MEET THE 3-ON-3 BLAZERS TEAM
Jared Cowley (above, left) is a digital media producer who writes about the Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. Jared has written about the Jazz and Warriors as a sports editor at two daily newspapers.
Orlando Sanchez (above, center) is the sports anchor and reporter for KGW News, Sports Sunday and Friday Night Flights. Orlando has covered multiple NBA Finals, NCAA Basketball Tournaments and World Series.
Nate Hanson (above, right) is a digital producer who contributes to KGW.com’s coverage of the Blazers, Ducks, Beavers and high school sports.
