Rip City Project
Fansided

Playoffs Update – Trail Blazers Chance to Take Control

By McLayne Bertsch

Jan 18, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards guard Garrett Temple (17) in the first quarter at Verizon Center. The Blazers won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards guard Garrett Temple (17) in the first quarter at Verizon Center. The Blazers won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Trail Blazers Playoffs: It’s Now or Never

The Portland Trail Blazers schedule ramps up after their next four games. 21 of their last 32 games to finish the season are against teams with winning records. If they are going to challenge for the eighth seed in the Western Conference, they have to sweep the week in Portland against sub-par competitors. Up first, and most importantly, the red-hot Sacramento Kings visit the Blazers. If the Blazers do not take care of business Tuesday night, this weekly playoffs update will threaten to become a draft prospects article.

The Bottom Eight

*RCP Playoffs % is a complex algorithm that consists of watching NBA games and making partially educated guesses.

Utah Jazz: 19-24 LW: 1-2 RCP Playoffs % = 27% (-2%)
The Utah Jazz’ trip out east was cut short due to #JonasBlizzard. Although they blew out the New Jersey  Brooklyn Nets, the Jazz cannot feel good about the road trip. Back-to-back overtime losses knocked the Jazz out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs race. Also, should we be worried about Derrick Favors at this point? He has been day-to-day with back spasms for over a month now.

Portland Trail Blazers: 20-26 LW: 2-1 RCP Playoffs % = 24% (unchanged)
A 3-0 record this week is a must. Thankfully, C.J. McCollum’s is shooting the lights out, Miles Mason Plumlee looks more comfortable than ever and Noah Vonleh hit double-digit points for the first time as a Blazer. Also, Damian Lillard had an insanely efficient night against the Lakers on Saturday: 14-19 shooting in three quarters with no turnovers… Or in other words, the opposite of 2016 Kobe.

Sacramento Kings: 20-23 LW: 3-0 RCP Playoffs % = 21% (+7%)
The love triangle between Boogie Cousins, Rajon Rondo and George Karl could not be stronger. The Sacramento Kings put together their 5th straight win last night while Cousins scored a career-high 48 points. Rondo earned another triple-double. Karl claims Cousins is the best center in the league. Maybe this was a match made in heaven? Or maybe, these three are waiting to stab the other two in the back at the first sign of trouble. Enjoy the honeymoon phase Kings’ fans, it won’t last.

Cousins, Rondo and Karl are clearly all built like Reese Bobby from Talladega Nights: Just when things are going great at Applebee’s, something inside of these men just has to screw it all up.

New Orleans Pelicans: 16-27 LW: 3-1 RCP Playoffs % = 18% (+1%)
The New Orleans Pelicans cannot be written off in this race. Even though it looks like a three-team race with the teams above them, they have Anthony Davis! The Pelicans have quietly won five of six games and are in the middle of a seven game home stand. It will not be surprising if they win their next three games and 50 different articles come out about how Davis is having an underrated season.

Denver Nuggets: 17-27 LW: 2-2 RCP Playoffs % = 10% (-2%)

More from Rip City Project


The Denver Nuggets remind me of the Portland Trail Blazers:

Both teams were stripped of any expectations before this season. Both teams have upset major contenders and are much more competitive than expected. Both teams have solid coaches that the organizations want to lead them through the rebuilding process. Finally, both teams have a breakout star that will win an NBA award at the end of the season. (McCollum &

Will Barton

) Sadly, both those players were on the

same team

last season…

Phoenix Suns: 14-31 LW: 1-3 RCP Playoffs % = 0% (-2%)
How did the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks last night? This is the worst team in the NBA right now – worse than the 76ers or Lakers. It is hard to tell if Head Coach Jeff Hornacek is going all in or given up all hope when he played an aging Tyson Chandler 44 minutes last night.

Jan 16, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) drives past Arkansas Razorbacks forward Moses Kingsley (33) during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) drives past Arkansas Razorbacks forward Moses Kingsley (33) during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Minnesota Timberwolves: 14-31 LW: 2-2 RCP Playoffs % = 0% (-2%)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are sneakily in a good position to get three straight #1 overall picks. Can you imagine having Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns AND Ben Simmons? It is within reach for the Timberwolves, having installed their “sneak-tanking” philosophy successfully this season.

*Sneak tanking is defined as “Playing a washed up Tayshaun Prince more than 20 minutes a game and calling it ‘veteran leadership’.”

Los Angeles Lakers: 9-37 LW: 0-4 RCP Playoffs % = 0% (Unchanged)
Kobe Bryant ranks 15th in the NBA this season with 249 three point field goal attempts. Unfortunately, he ranks 61st in the NBA with only 62 three point field goals made. (a whopping 24.9%) Keep shooting Kobe.