Analyzing Potential Playoff Matchups for the Portland Trail Blazers

With only 18 games left in the regular season, let’s take a look at each possible playoff matchup for the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference. With a record of 39-25, they are actually tied with both the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Utah Jazz are not far behind. They are currently in sixth place and are only 2.5 games behind the aforementioned three teams. The LA Clippers are only half of a game behind the Jazz.

There is also still a chance that the Blazers could slide down to the 7th seed and face the Denver Nuggets. However, I will not dissect that outcome as it seems very unlikely.

After hitting a rough patch in November and December, the Blazers are playing their best basketball of the season and the front office’s recent acquisitions give them, perhaps, their most talented roster since LaMarcus Aldridge departed in free agency.

The Western Conference standings are always changing, and the playoff matchups are far from set. However, the Blazer fans are certainly looking at the standings already to determine the best possible matchup. With so many possible outcomes, let’s look at how the Blazers would matchup with each potential opponent.

I will rate each opponent on a 1-10 scale. 1 signifies that under no circumstance should the Blazers want to face that team. 10 signifies that the matchup is as ideal as it gets.

Let’s take a look at each possible matchup