2019 NBA Playoffs: Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder preview

In a first-round matchup with upset potential, the banged-up Portland Trail Blazers will welcome in the inconsistent OKC Thunder.

The Portland Trail Blazers managed to cross the 50-win barrier for the first time since the 2014-15 season and yet despite their high-level play, the Blazers find themselves on upset alert for the second consecutive season in a battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for OKC in 2018-19. They started off 37-20, one of the top teams in the Western Conference who began to feel like a legitimate challenger to the Golden State Warriors.

Following the All-Star break, the Thunder finished off the year at just 12-13, stumbling all the way down to the No. 6 seed.

Paul George was playing like a legitimate candidate for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year only to suffer from a shoulder injury that limited him to just 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 33.6 percent from the 3-point line after he’d shot 45.3 and 40.6 percent respectively before the midseason festivities.

Portland is a team that’s been hit by injuries in a big way. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic was posting career-high marks in points, rebounds and assists before a devastating leg injury in late March knocked him out for the rest of the year.

Second-leading scorer CJ McCollum missed nearly three weeks near the end of the regular season recovering from a left knee strain and only managed to get in just two games before the beginning of the playoffs.

These two teams were separated by four games in the conference standings while the Thunder managed to take all four of their meetings over the course of the regular season.

The Blazers may be the higher seed, but it’s going to take a little extra something to avoid a first-round defeat for the third consecutive season.