With just seven games left in the NBA season, the Blazers are closing in on their fifth consecutive playoff appearance. They can secure it tonight — with help.
The Portland Trail Blazers play the Los Angeles Clippers Friday at 7:30 p.m. PDT with a chance to grab a playoff spot. A couple of things need to happen, though.
First of all, the Blazers need to win, natch.
Second, they need a loss from either the Nuggets or the Timberwolves.
From NBA PR: PORTLAND clinches a playoff spot with a win AND a loss by EITHER Denver or Minnesota
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) March 30, 2018
How likely are these things to happen? Let’s take ’em one by one.
Clippers vs. Blazers
First things first: Let’s take a look at the Western Conference standings.
Seven games left in the season. Here's how things look in the West. #RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) March 30, 2018
Blazers play the Clippers tonight at 7:30 p.m. PDT. pic.twitter.com/VIl6I6ma0H
As you have no doubt surmised, the Clippers are in desperation mode. They have little wiggle room, and must keep winning in order to keep their playoff hopes afloat and avoid ending the season below that dreaded red line.
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It’s a testament to the strength of the Western Conference that the Clippers (41-34) are struggling to get into the playoffs. If they were in the East, they’d be tied for the sixth spot.
Portland and the Clippers have played three times this season; Portland has won two of those first three.
With Damian Lillard returning to action after missing Wednesday’s loss to the Grizzlies to be there for the birth of his child, look for the Blazers to dominate Friday. Portland is simply better than the Clippers, and no amount of playoff/season desperation on the part of LAC is enough to overcome the fact that they’re just not as good as the Blazers.
Timberwolves at Mavericks
The Minnesota Timberwolves (43-33) are in Dallas Friday to take on the Mavericks. Dallas is awful (23-52); only four teams in the entire league have fewer wins than they do.
The Timberwolves have some injuries that could conceivably cause them to have problems, but they still have enough firepower to down the lowly Mavericks despite being shorthanded.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between Minnesota and Dallas, with the T-Wolves winning all three previous match-ups. Look for Minnesota to sweep the season series and beat the Mavericks — who are themselves dealing with a litany of injuries.
That means the Blazers will have to look elsewhere for the help they need to clinch a playoff spot Friday.
Nuggets at Thunder
The Nuggets (40-35) are in worse shape than the Clippers, hanging on by a fingernail to their dwindling playoff hopes. The Thunder (44-32), on the other hand, are neck and neck with the San Antonio Spurs, jockeying for that coveted fourth playoff seed.
OKC lost to the Spurs Thursday, meaning Friday’s game against the visiting Nuggets takes on added importance for them. Denver has bested OKC in two of their three games this season, but look for OKC to steamroll the Nuggets Friday in Oklahoma City.
So that’s how it looks from where I’m sitting on this Friday afternoon in Rip City.
Next: Blazers loss in Memphis is just a bump on the road
To sum it up: We’ll know before the end of the Clippers-Blazers game whether or not the Wolves or Nuggets have lost. (We might even know before the Blazers tip-off.) And if at least one of them loses and the Blazers can take care of business at the Moda Center, Portland will have secured its fifth consecutive playoff spot.
And then the Trail Blazers can start working to secure that third seed in the West — and keep it out of anybody’s hands other than their own.
Go Blazers.