With many Western Conference teams facing absences from key players, the Portland Trail Blazers may have an easier time making the playoffs than originally thought.
With several unfortunate events plaguing Western Conference players and their teams, the once deadlocked playoff picture could be more open than we predicted this summer. The Portland Trail Blazers may have an easier time finding their way in.
There’s no denying it: the Western Conference is absolutely stacked. Teams that could easily make the playoffs in the East, like the Denver Nuggets, find themselves on the outside looking in when the postseason comes along.
This year, there are 11 teams realistically fighting for eight playoff spots:
The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Portland Trail Blazers.
This summer, ESPN released projected records for all 30 NBA teams. They predicted the Blazers would win 43 games and finish tenth in the West, outside of the playoffs. While they could ultimately outperform this prediction, there’s no question that the Western Conference is a bloodbath.
Thankfully for them, three of these 11 teams are suffering bouts of bad luck that will make their playoff aspirations harder to realize.