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There has been notable improvement from the Portland Trail Blazers. After missing the playoffs in each of the past four seasons with several brutal results — including a 21-61 mark in 2023-24 — the Blazers have shown quite a bit of life this season. They are on their way to returning to the playoffs, even if they currently are in 10th place in the Western Conference.
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That is good enough to put them in the Play-In portion of the NBA playoffs. After beating the Brooklyn Nets Monday night, they have a 33-36 record and that’s good enough to give them an 9-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies. It seems fairly safe that their position inside the playoff structure is secure.
The question is whether the Blazers can improve their spot, because their chances of getting a spot into inside the top eight once the Western Conference playoffs begin in earnest are fairly decent.
The Play-In portion of the tournament begins with the No. 7 seed hosting the No. 8 seed. The winner of that game is in the playoffs structure as the seventh seed. That would mean a likely matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, the No. 2 seed.
The No. 9 and 10 teams would play on the home court of the No. 9 seed and the loser of that game is eliminated. The winner goes on the road to face the loser of the 7-8 game. The winner of that game earns the No. 8 spot. That team would have to line up against the top-seeded and defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. While that looks like an impossible matchup, it certainly is better than missing the playoffs or getting eliminated in the Play-In games.
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No. 8 spot would be the ideal spot for the Blazers
The Blazers are one-half game behind the No. 9 seed Golden State Warriors and 2.0 games behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. They could improve their position to the No. 8 spot and that appears to be the best spot for them. The Phoenix Suns are in the No. 7 spot with a 39-29 record, and they appear to be out of reach.
The Blazers have played the first two games of a five-game road trip. They suffered a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers before beating the Nets, and they play at Indiana Wednesday night. That should be a winnable game since the Pacers are in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-53 record.
However, the final two games of the trip are against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. Both of those veteran teams are tied for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference with 41-27 records. The Trail Blazers are 1-1 against the Nuggets and 0-2 against the Timberwolves.
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If they can survive the end of the road trip, the Blazers return home for four games against the Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Mavericks and Washington Wizards. All of those games are winnable, but a 3-1 homestand could be sufficient to help head coach Tiago Splitter’s team climb in the playoff structure.
Tiago Splitter has kept the team together as interim coach
Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Splitter has been the interim coach of the Blazers since the early part of the season when Chauncey Billups was relieved of his duties after federal charges were filed against him involving an illegal gambling investigation.
The team could have fallen apart when their head coach left the team in such an unceremonious manner, but Splitter has held the Trail Blazers together.
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The Blazers have been depending on forward Deni Avdija, guard Shaedon Sharpe, forward Jerami Grant and veteran guard Jrue Holiday.
Avdija is their best scorer, averaging 24.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. The native of Tel Aviv, Israel clearly has fine offensive skills and plays consistently hard on defense. Sharpe is averaging 21.4 points per game but he is out with a calf strain and the Blazers have to compete without him for the foreseeable future.
Grant is averaging 18.8 points per game and he is connecting on 50.9 percent of his shots from the field. Holiday is scoring 16.4 points and 6.2 assists per game, but it is his leadership and ability to stay calm in crucial moments that have helped the Blazers improve this season.
Holiday is a true professional who is one of the most underrated players in the league. He is a two-time All-Star and a six-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive team. He was a key member of the Milwaukee Bucks when they won the NBA championship in 2021 and he repeated his role when he helped the Boston Celtics when they took home their 19th title in 2024.
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His ability to play his best game in the most crucial situations could help the Blazers rise in the standings and then compete effectively in the postseason.
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