As the 2017-18 NBA season winds down, the Portland Trail Blazers are in the thick of the brutal Western Conference playoff race. With only 16 games left, it looks likely that the team is headed to the postseason, even if we likely won’t know who they’ll be facing until the last week (or day) of the season.
While the Blazers have been in the playoffs each of the last four years, the last two seasons in particular felt like, and were, early exits. That’s not necessarily the case this year. If the Blazers finish relatively strong, they’ll have a chance to avoid the clear conference powerhouses and play an evenly-matched series; maybe even advancing into May.