The Portland Trail Blazers have fallen out of the top half of the Western Conference playoff picture after a disappointing run over these past few weeks. They are currently riding a five-game skid, which has pulled them down all the way to the seventh spot in the West. If the season ends now, Damian Lillard and his crew will have to go through their second play-in tournament in as many seasons.
Blazers fans know that their superstar is the king of the clutch and how “Dame Time” has proven that he's more than capable of breaking hearts (and franchises) given the chance. However, this season's a bit different, and looking at their potential match-ups come the play-in, things might not be as easy as it seems.
Here are three reasons why Portland should absolutely avoid the play-in tournament.
3. Losing streak vs. Grizzlies
If the season ended now, we will all be treated with a rematch from last season's play-in tournament with the Blazers going up against the young (and hungry) Memphis Grizzlies. Last season, Lillard dueled with second-year guard Ja Morant as the two each dropped thirty points in an absolute classic.
Lillard's 31 points and 10 assists were enough to topple Morant's 35-point performance as the Blazers went on with a 126-122 win, which brought them to the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
To say that the Grizzlies took that loss personally is an understatement given that Memphis has just come off back-to-back wins against a “healthy” Blazers squad who had Lillard, CJ McCollum, and even Jusuf Nurkic all in the line-up. This now puts their season series at 2-0, with the Blazers having one more shot at grabbing a much-needed win to help them gain a bit of confidence coming into the postseason.
If these two are indeed meeting in the first round of the play-in tournament this season, look for Memphis to come out swinging and try and avenge their 2020 play-in loss.
2. Gregg Popovich and the White Walkers
As part of the play-in tournament, the loser between no.7 and no.8 will have to face the winner of the no.9 and no.10 match-up. If the Blazers do end up in this predicament, one of their potential opponents would be the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years last season, which only means that they'll be hungry as ever. They're currently sitting at the ninth spot, which means that they still have an outside chance of making a playoff return this 2021.
It's worth mention though that the Spurs have Gregg Popovich. Honestly, do we need to say anything more? Pop's playoff record speaks for itself (its a .599 over 284 games by the way). Surely, Dame and the rest of the Blazers wouldn't want to battle with someone as great as Pop come playoff time. Think the Night King from the Game of Thrones. Dame might want to make sure his dragons are well-fed if they end up with a win-or-go-home situation against Pop.
1. Stephen Wardell Curry
Another team who's hungry to make a huge statement this season is the Golden State Warriors and two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Just like the Spurs, the Warriors were terrible last season with both Curry and Klay Thompson out.
This season, Thompson was ruled out for another year right before the season even started, which made things a bit more complicated for the 2018 champions.
After a rollercoaster first half of the 2020-21 campaign, Curry channeled his inner demi-god and went bonkers right after the All-Star break. In April, Curry has been on an absolute tear and has propelled himself to be this season's league-leading scorer. The seven-time All-Star has looked as lethal as ever, and even with a depleted line-up, this Warriors squad will be one of the scariest teams in the play-in tournament as they're definitely peaking at the right time.
No one wants to battle Curry at his prime, right?
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