The Portland Trail Blazers can still make the Conference Finals

The Portland Trail Blazers have had another up and down year in the stacked Western Conference. With expectations at an all-time high after a strong off-season where they upgraded their starting five and their bench, this season has been disappointing in several ways.

Some of this has been out of their control due to injuries to key players; other things like defense have suffered because of poor schemes or lack of effort.

The Blazers season hasn’t been all bad, with a four-game winning stretch on the road recently, and then a nice stretch when Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum were injured when they rose into the top half of the standings, but they have been largely inconsistent this season.

Their main chance of success this season definitely lies in the playoffs. A best of seven series is likely to be their best bet at making this season a success.

A lack of consistency on the defensive end combined with their heavy shooting style on offense means that they are more suited to getting success in a playoff format.

The other thing playing into their hands is that the Los Angeles Lakers and potentially the LA Clippers will not hold the top seeds in the Western Conference. Anthony Davis and LeBron James are a nightmare matchup for the Blazers, while Paul George and Kawhi Leonard will be just as tough.

The Lakers have no way of reaching any of the top three seeds, while the Clippers are in the three-seed and are three games back from first and second. The Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns sit atop the Western Conference standings, and are much more favorable matchups for the Blazers.

I don’t think any Blazer fan would be confident about a matchup with Jazz or Suns, but this gives the Blazers a puncher’s chance as they could have the best player in the series in Damian Lillard.

Though the Jazz are hot at the moment, this type of form hasn’t always translated to the post-season. If Dame could have a series or run similar to what we saw in the bubble last year, or the previous year against the Oklahoma City Thunder, then the Blazers could take the Jazz out.

The Suns are maybe a tougher matchup as their twin guards are hard to match up with. Robert Covington could guard Booker, and Norman Powell could guard Paul, but the Blazers don’t have exceptional man defenders for these types of guard threats. On the other end though, the Suns’ lack of a strong defensive big man may be where they could beat them. Neither Deandre Ayton nor Dario Saric are big men that are made for playoff basketball.

If the Blazers can get past either of these two teams in the first round, then there is a chance that the Lakers and Clippers meet in the first round, or that they are on the other side of the bracket altogether. If the Blazers end up as the eight-seed, then there’s a chance that they don’t encounter either team in the first or second round.

Though there are a few what-ifs in these situations, the Lakers’ struggles combined with the Clippers being a few games back from the top, may mean that the Blazers can peak later in the season and make a potential run at the Conference finals.

This team, on its best days, can beat the likes of the Suns and Jazz. If they had to face the Denver Nuggets, they could definitely beat them. Especially without Jamal Murray. There is a situation where the Blazers can beat a first-round team even if that is an upset on the books.

Because McCollum and Nurkic are fresh as they missed a large part of the season, this team can hit the playoffs fresh. Lillard may not be fresh like these others, but he is due a big playoffs and will have extra motivation after last year going out in five games where he only got to play four due to injury.

This Blazers team is a top-four team in the West when healthy, they just need some things to go their way.