Anything can happen in the NBA. Here are some bold predictions for the remainder of the Portland Trail Blazers season.
The Portland Trail Blazers will resume action on Thursday when they kick off an east coast trip in Brooklyn against the Nets.
The club will enter play with a one-game lead for the fourth seed in the Western Conference over the Houston Rockets, with a record of 34-23. In order to clinch homecourt for the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season, Portland must continue winning ball games.
Will the first round of the postseason go through Rip City?
This question will be answered along with two other bold predictions for the rest of this Portland Trail Blazers campaign:
Prediction One: Enes Kanter works his way into a sixth man role
Just before the All-Star break, the Blazers signed big man Enes Kanter after he was let go by the New York Knicks. Kanter was benched for much of his last month with New York despite solid numbers on the season. This year, he averages a double-double with 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Outside of Jusuf Nurkić, Portland’s frontcourt has had their struggles this season with inconsistent play from both Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard.
If Kanter finds himself getting regular minutes, he should reach his full potential and be a key piece of the Blazers bench.
At the end of the day, he may just be the Blazers top bench player and find himself as a relied upon sixth man.
Prediction Two: Blazers eliminate Lakers from playoff contention on April 9
Portland will likely need to play to win until the season’s final day to secure a homecourt advantage in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
Sitting at the fourth seed now, they are only three games from the third seed and five from the second.
At the same time, the Rockets are only one game behind Portland while the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs are within two games, the LA Clippers are within three, and the Sacramento Kings are four back.
On April 9, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Blazers at the Staples Center.
While Portland fights to kick off their postseason at the Moda Center, the Lakers will look to punch their tickets to Denver or Golden State.
Los Angeles finds themselves on the outside looking in and are battling to be an eight seed despite having LeBron James on their roster. Magic Johnson failed to get James a sidekick for the stretch run. Therefore, it’s no guarantee the Lakers are playing past the regular season.
I predict the Blazers get a big win to keep hope for homecourt alive and officially eliminate the Lakers from playoff contention, locking the eighth seed for the up-and-coming to Sacramento Kings.
Prediction Three: Blazers finish fifth in Western Conference
This isn’t a prediction Blazers fans will want to hear, but I see Portland opening up the postseason in Houston against the fourth seeded Rockets.
This is less to do with not having belief in the Blazers and more to do with not wanting to bet against James Harden. The Beard had the Rockets within one game of the NBA Finals last season and is in the midst of a 31 game streak with 30 or more points.
I see Harden guiding the Rockets to enough wins to hold off Portland for the fourth seed.
Check back at the end of the season to see how these played out!