After they followed up their 13-games winning streak by losing back-to-back home games versus the Rockets and Celtics, it looked as though perhaps the Trail Blazers might be on the verge of taking a step back in the standings, especially with a difficult three-game road trip on the horizon. Losing to the team with the best record in the NBA wasn't unexpected, but dropping the game to an injury-riddled Boston team after being up by double-digits in the fourth quarter right before heading out to take on the Thunder, Pelicans, two teams hot on Portland's tail in the race for the three-seed, seemed like an ominous sign.
But the Trail Blazers responded to one of their most disappointing losses of the year by pulling off one of their most impressive victories by beating the Thunder 108-105 Sunday night in Oklahoma City. The win, sparked by a 34-point performance from CJ McCollum, not only calmed some nerves, it pushed Portland's lead for third-place in the West to 2.0 games with nine games to play and extended their road winning streak to six games. If the Blazers do end up with home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they'll likely look back on Sunday night's victory as one of the main reasons why. And sweeping a team that you might very well see in the first round is never a bad thing for a team's confidence.
So with another huge game looming Tuesday night in New Orleans, here's where the Trail Blazers stand in the playoff race with nine games to go as of games played on March 25.
Portland Trail Blazers, 3rd-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 45-28 | Conference record: 27-16 | Division record: 8-6Home record: 25-13 | Away record: 20-15 | Games back: 14.5
Remaining home games: 3 (3/30 vs. Clippers, 4/1 vs. Grizzlies, 4/11 vs. Jazz)Remaining road games: 6 (3/27 @ Pelicans, 3/28 @ Grizzlies, 4/3 @ Mavericks, 4/5 @ Rockets, 4/7 @ Spurs, 4/9 @ Nuggets)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 3 (1 home, 2 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 6 (2 home, 4 away)
Oklahoma City Thunder, 4th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 44-31 | Conference record: 25-21 | Division record: 5-10Home record: 26-12 | Away record: 18-19 | Games back: 16.5
Remaining home games: 3 (3/30 vs. Nuggets, 4/3 vs. Warriors, 4/11 vs. Grizzlies)Remaining road games: 4 (3/29 @ Spurs, 4/1 @ Pelicans, 4/7 @ Rockets, 4/9 @Heat)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 1 (1 home, 0 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 6 (2 home, 4 away)
Tiebreaker: The Trail Blazers own the tiebreaker over the Thunder thanks to sweeping the season series 4-0.
New Orleans Pelicans, tied for 5th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 43-31 | Conference record: 25-21 | Division record: 7-7Home record: 22-15 | Away record: 21-16 | Games back: 17
Remaining home games: 4 (3/27 vs. Trail Blazers, 4/1 vs. Thunder, 4/4 vs. Grizzlies, 4/11 vs. Spurs)Remaining road games: 4 (3/30 @ Cavaliers, 4/6 @ Suns, 4/7 @ Warriors, 4/9 @ Clippers)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 2 (1 home, 1 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 6 (3 home, 3 away)
Tiebreaker: The Pelicans currently lead the season series versus the Trail Blazers 2-1. If the Pelicans win the final meeting on March 27 in New Orleans, they own the tiebreaker. If the Blazers win, the tiebreaker them moves to division winner (the Pelicans cannot win their division while the Trail Blazers are currently first place in the Northwest Division). If the Blazers do not win the Northwest Division, the tiebreaker then goes to win percentage against teams in the Western Conference (Portland's current conference record is 27-16, New Orleans' is 22-23).
San Antonio Spurs, tied for 5th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 43-31 | Conference record: 25-20 | Division record: 8-6Home record: 29-8 | Away record: 14-23 | Games back: 17
Remaining home games: 4 (3/29 vs. Thunder, 4/1 vs. Rockets, 4/7 vs. Trail Blazers, 4/9 vs. Kings)Remaining road games: 4 (3/27 @ Wizards, 4/3 @ Clippers, 4/4 @ Lakers, 4/11 @ Pelicans)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 2 (1 home, 1 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 6 (3 home, 3 away)
Tiebreaker: The season series between the Trail Blazers and Spurs is tied at 1-1, meaning their final meeting this season on April 7 in San Antonio will determine who owns the tiebreaker.
Minnesota Timberwolves, tied for 7th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 42-32 | Conference record: 25-20 | Division record: 9-4Home record: 27-9 | Away record: 14-23 | Games back: 18
Remaining home games: 5 (3/26 vs. Grizzlies, 3/28 vs. Hawks, 4/1 vs. Jazz, 4/9 vs. Grizzlies, 4/11 vs. Nuggets)Remaining road games: 3 (3/30 @ Mavericks, 4/5 @ Nuggets, 4/6 @ Lakers)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 5 (2 home, 2 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 6 (3 home, 3 away)
Tiebreaker: The Trail Blazers and Timberwolves tied their season series 2-2, so the next tiebreaker goes to division winner. If neither team wins the Northwest Division, the next tiebreaker is division record (Minnesota leads this tiebreaker with a 9-4 division record compared to Portland's 8-6 division record)
Utah Jazz, tied for 7th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 42-32 | Conference record: 28-17 | Division record: 6-8Home record: 24-12 | Away record: 18-20 | Games back: 18
Remaining home games: 5 (3/28 vs. Celtics, 3/30 vs. Grizzlies, 4/3 vs. Lakers, 4/5 vs. Clippers, 4/10 vs. Warriors)Remaining road games: 3 (4/1 @ Timberwolves, 4/8 @ Lakers, 4/11 @ Trail Blazers)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 3 (2 home, 1 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 5 (3 home, 2 away)
Tiebreaker: The Jazz currently lead the season series 2-1 versus the Trail Blazers with one game to play (which also happens to be the last game of the season for both teams). If the Jazz win the final meeting, they win the tiebreaker. If the Trail Blazers win, and thus, tie the season series 2-2, the next tiebreaker is division winner. If neither the Blazers nor Jazz win the Northwest Division, the next tiebreaker is division record (The Trail Blazers currently have a 8-6 record in the Northwest Division, while the Jazz have a 6-8 division record).
Denver Nuggets, 9th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 40-33 | Conference record: 24-23 | Division record: 6-6Home record: 27-10 | Away record: 13-23 | Games back: 19.5
Remaining home games: 4 (4/1 vs. Bucks, 4/3 vs. Pacers, 4/5 vs. Timberwolves, 4/9 vs. Trail Blazers)Remaining road games: 5 (3/26 @ 76ers, 3/27 @ Raptors, 3/30 @ Thunder, 4/7 @ Clippers, 4/11 @ Timberwolves)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 0 Remaining games versus teams over .500: 9 (4 home, 5 away)
Tiebreaker: The Nuggets currently lead the season series 2-1 with one game yet to be played April 9 in Denver.
LA Clippers, 10th-place in the Western Conference
Overall record: 39-34 | Conference record: 22-23 | Division record: 11-3Home record: 20-15 | Away record: 19-19 | Games back: 20.5
Remaining home games: 6 (3/27 vs. Bucks, 4/1 vs. Pacers, 4/3 vs. Spurs, 4/7 vs. Nuggets, 4/9 vs. Pelicans, 4/11 vs. Lakers)Remaining road games: 3 (3/28 @ Suns, 3/30 @ Trail Blazers, 4/5 @ Jazz)
Remaining games versus teams under .500: 2 (1 home, 1 away) Remaining games versus teams over .500: 7 (5 home, 2 away)
Tiebreaker: The Trail Blazers currently lead the season series 2-1 versus the Clippers with one game remaining.