Can the Blazers upset the Lakers in a potential first-round matchup?
In one arena, the Portland Trail Blazers competed with the awareness that every single possession could determine a win. And that win could determine their playoff chances.
At another arena only minutes away, the Los Angeles Lakers competed with the awareness that they have already secured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. And so their key players either rested on the bench or played with apathy on the court.
All of which poses an interesting question. Should the Blazers sneak into the playoffs as the Western Conference's eighth seed, could they upset the top-seeded Lakers in a first-round matchup? Could the Blazers benefit from knowing their playoff opponent far in advance and from their stellar play during the NBA's restart?
“I'd love to find out,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said following a 125115 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. “I don't know.”
To be clear, Stotts, the former OU player, was answering a question of if there are any advantages to the Blazers knowing they would play the Lakers in the playoffs since they were all but mathematically assured of the No. 1 seed before the season restart even began. He was not answering a question of if he thinks the Blazers could beat the Lakers in the postseason.
Either way, Stotts and his players would not have given bulletin board material. The Blazers (3238) still sit a game behind the Memphis Grizzlies (33-37) for the eighth and final playoff spot with four seeding games remaining. They only have narrow cushions over the Phoenix Suns (30-39), San Antonio Spurs (30-38), Sacramento Kings (29-40) and New Orleans Pelicans. And the eighth seed only secures an automatic playoff berth if it has a four-game advantage over the ninth seed. Otherwise, both teams will have a play-in scenario that requires the eighth seed to only win once.
Still, those in NBA circles increasingly expect the Blazers to make the playoffs because they have an All-Star backcourt (Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum), a future Hall-of-Famer who has resuscitated his career (Carmelo Anthony) and two frontcourt players returning from injuries (Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins). They have become increasingly intrigued with the Blazers' upset potential against the Lakers for the same reasons. Before the Celtics faced the Blazers and survived a late-game comeback, Boston coach Brad Stevens said that “we're not playing the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers; we're playing the Western Conference finalists from last year.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers are not exactly trending where they want to be. Amid their 2-3 record during the season restart, however, the Lakers have shown some troubling developments. They have ranked last out of 22 teams in shooting percentage (41.2%), last in 3-point shooting (21.3%), 21st in assists (18.8) and 18th in turnovers (18).
So long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain healthy, the Lakers can absorb fluid depth charts, an opponent's best shot and an occasional bad game. The Lakers certainly have the talent and experience to correct their aforementioned issues. The Blazers have the talent and experience, however, to exploit those issues.
Can Portland become good enough both to make the postseason and win a playoff series?
“We don't want to get ahead of ourselves,” Stotts said. “It's just about playing the next game. Sorry, pretty cliché.”
That is OK. The Blazers might give boring answers. They play very entertaining basketball, though. Most importantly, they have played winning basketball to become the Western Conference's expected eighth seed. And that might give them a decent shot at pulling off a firstround upset.