The Portland Trail Blazers officially secured their spot in the NBA Playoffs with their double-overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. It was win No. 46 on the season, and their current record of 47-27, with eight games left, leaves the magic number of 50 as a realistic end point. They’re also sitting as the West’s 3-seed at the moment, setting them up for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
To put it briefly: this has been a successful season for the Blazers.
Yet, various NBA writers, experts and prediction systems said it would be anything but a season worth celebrating before the season.