The Portland Trail Blazers have five games left on their schedule, and each of them will be very important towards figuring out where they finish in the Western Conference standings at the end of the regular season.
Here’s a look at the team’s final six games and what to expect.
April 2 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce McGowens dribbles against Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The Blazers will return home to take on the Pelicans in a winnable game for Portland that could help them overtake eighth place in the Western Conference. Without Jerami Grant, it will be tougher for the Blazers to defend Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, but the team will have to defend him as a unit.
Look forward to Toumani Camara and Kris Murray to help tackle the responsibility of defending Williamson against the Pelicans.
April 6 at Denver Nuggets
Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Blazers will have a difficult task in defending Nikola Jokic as they face the Denver Nuggets on the road. The Blazers struggled against Jokic in the previous meeting. This season against the Blazers, Jokic is averaging 25 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.
Donovan Clingan will do his best in the post against Jokic, but the second-year pro will be viewed as a massive underdog in that individual matchup, making it very difficult for the Blazers to beat the Nuggets, who have won six consecutive games.
April 8 at San Antonio Spurs
Portland Trail Blazers guard Caleb Love dribbles past San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
The Blazers will have another tough game against the Spurs, who currently hold the longest winning streak in the league. The Spurs have won nine games in a row and continue to flex their dominance in the Western Conference as they close in on a 60-win season.
It will be another difficult matchup for Clingan as he will be tasked with guarding Victor Weminyama, who is making a case to be the league’s MVP this season.
April 10 vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday dribbles against LA Clippers center Brook Lopez. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The biggest matchup of the bunch comes in the penultimate game of the season against the Clippers. The Blazers showed that they can compete with the Clippers in their latest win against them on the road, but LA will be coming back hungrier than ever to try and settle the score.
If Camara can do a good job defending Leonard like he did in the previous game, that should really help the Blazers’ chances of pulling out another win.
April 12 vs. Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings guard Russel Westbrook drives around Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija. | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
The final game of the season against the Kings will likely have the Blazers knowing what they need to do in order to succeed. There’s a good chance that the Blazers could have their playoff positioning already chosen by this game, so it may not matter in the grand scheme of things.
However, if they are in a position to where they need to win, they should have a good opportunity to do so at home against the worst team in the Western Conference.
Our Prediction
The Blazers should beat the Pelicans and Kings at home, and losses on the road against the Nuggets and Spurs are to be expected. The game against the Clippers can go either way, and it could be the final factor deciding whether the team is in eighth or ninth place.
Given the fact that the Blazers beat the Clippers on the road, they should look to match the game plan they had against them in Los Angeles and mimic it in Portland. That win definitely gave the young Blazers a lot of confidence, and it should be enough to pull out a win.
The game will be very important, considering it comes off the heels of the two games on the road against the Nuggets and Spurs. Pencil in a win for Portland, giving them a 3-2 finish on the season and an overall record of 42-40.