The Blazers will now start planning for a playoff series against the Spurs that will start on Sunday.
The Portland Trail Blazers have officially made the playoffs. They’ll be the No. 7 seed taking on the San Antonio Spurs, and after an emotional win on Tuesday night over the Phoenix Suns, there are only a few days before that series gets underway.
In fact, Game 1 against the Spurs will be in San Antonio on Sunday night, giving Portland its first look at this postseason matchup. San Antonio has obviously been phenomenal all season, narrowly missing out on the best record in the NBA, but the Spurs still finished with the second-best record in the league. So this is undoubtedly a team that can legitimately contend this season, and it will not be an easy matchup for the Blazers.
In fact, Portland will likely be significant underdog in this series. However, the Blazers did play the Spurs three times this season. San Antonio won two, and Portland won one. In the two Spurs wins, San Antonio pulled out double-digit victories. The lone Portland win was by five points back in January, but the most recent contest was just about a week ago, and the Spurs came out on top 112-101 despite being shorthanded.
The Blazers’ offense was just in the mud in that game, and the Spurs are dynamic. They’ve got an awesome defense anchored by Victor Wembanyama, who at this point has a case for being the best player in the entire world. They’ve got shooters around him, young rising stars, and veterans to complement the roster and stabilize the team. So it won’t be an easy series.
The Blazers do have veterans as well. Deni Avdija is one of the most prolific scorers in the league. Donovan Clingan has the size to make things interesting in this matchup. So don't completely count them out. The Spurs are very athletic, but the Blazers do have solid athletes to match that, especially with players like Shaedon Sharpe.
There's much more to come on this upcoming series, but the stage has been set, the schedule has been released, and now in the coming days, it’s all about getting ready for that matchup.
In the days leading up to Game 1 on Sunday, BlazersRoundtable will have you covered with all of the insight, analysis and storylines.