The Portland Trail Blazers stand at 28-35, hanging on to 9th place in the NBA’s Western Conference by a thread. They’re 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for 8th place. A 3.5-game swing the other direction would tie them with the 13th-place Phoenix Suns.
The Blazers are in an easy schedule stretch, their last big chance to make up ground before the final weeks of the season. A question popping up among Blazers fans: “Do we really want them to?” Do the metrics still favor the Blazers making the playoffs at all costs, or would a higher pick in the 2020 NBA Draft offset the loss of the postseason this year?