The Portland Trail Blazers earn fifth seed, look to get past the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs.
Wednesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers wrapped up a long-awaited playoff seeding battle. As the Dallas Mavericks fell to the San Antonio Spurs, the Trail Blazers finally clinched the fifth seed in the Western Conference. With a projected win total of 27 games, not only was making the playoffs impressive, it was also the same seed they had last year.
Returning one starter on the team and adding what many thought were marginal pieces, no one expected them to return to the upper tier of Western Conference teams.
But many people underestimated the leadership ability of Damian Lillard, the continuation of C.J. McCollum‘s growth and their new players like Ed Davis, Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu all improving more than anyone would’ve thought. But even with all the improvement, they’ve still got a long way to go for the players to call this a successful season.
All the players on the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have the doubts like everyone else. Their patented phrase “THEY” came from the many projections, media members and fans that doubted them. So while others will look at it as success, the players know they have a shot at making the second round and potentially further.
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The team they’ll face? The L.A. Clippers, a team that’s played the Blazers very tough, making the series a potential nail biter. With Blake Griffin back in the fold, Doc Rivers and company will be looking to match the offensive duo of Lillard and McCollum.
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But when you look at the potential matchups, I think the one that will be the difference maker is the teams’ centers, DeAndre Jordan and Mason Plumlee.
Jordan has been incredible this season, despite the offseason free-agency debacle. His excellent defensive ability along with an improved offensive game allows for him to take advantage of Portland’s defensively deficient big men.
Shooting better than 70 percent from the field, grabbing an estimated 22 percent of all rebounds while on the floor and having one of the highest win-share totals in the NBA, DeAndre is an extremely valuable commodity for the Clippers.
In order to stand any chance of winning, Jordan will need to miss his free throws as he shoots close to 45 percent from the line and has cost L.A. multiple games because of his inability to shoot from the line.
Aside from Jordan and the threat he poses to the Blazers, the other intriguing matchup is at the point guard position. It’ll surely be a battle between two of the top point guards in the league in Lillard and Chris Paul. Both are offensively talented, but from the past matchups, Paul has really taken the cake from Dame.
Both guards have had great seasons, but head-to-head, Paul has won it, averaging 16.8 points and 10 assists per game against the Blazers. Lillard, on the other hand, has shot 32.4 percent against the Clips, averaging 18 points and six assists per game.
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These two matchups between the guards and centers will be the deciding ones of the series. The other three starters could make an impact, but both these teams rely heavily on the point guard and center performance to win games.
Looking at the past, these teams have gone at each other quarter after quarter, game after game. The series has been very close, with questionable officiating being a talking point of almost every matchup between L.A. and Portland. Rivers and Terry Stotts notably got into an argument during a preseason affair earlier this year.
You can almost guarantee the coaching feud to continue, especially in a seven-game series with two teams out to prove something. For the L.A. Clippers, it’s make it or break it time, literally.
As fans begin to grow inpatient of first-round or second-round losses to inferior teams, the Clippers are at the end of their leash. The project of the super team with Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, along with a championship head-coach, cannot lose in the first round again.
For the Blazers, the meaning is of importance to the players, as they want to prove they’re better than people thought. Operating with a chip on their shoulder all season, the Blazers will continue to use that to fuel their fire.
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The matchup has the potential to be the best of the first round on either side of the NBA. With the likes of Lillard, McCollum, Paul, Jordan and Griffin on the court, it’s going to be a star-studded series.