After four months of “regular” NBA basketball, two months of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a month of solo workouts, a month of training camp and three weeks of “seeding” games, the Trail Blazers will find out Thursday if their 2019-20 campaign goes on.
And thanks in large part to Damian Lillard’s heroics in the last two games, the Trail Blazers are the odds-on favorite to not only make the Western Conference Play-In, but to finish as the eight-seed, which requires winning just once in two attempts to advance to the playoffs (the nine-seed has to win two games to advance). But nothing has been settled yet, so much so that any of the four teams -- Portland, Memphis, Phoenix and San Antonio -- fighting of the play-in could finish eighth, ninth, tenth or eleventh based off the results of Thursday’s games. The NBA was hoping to add some excitement while also answering questions of fairness by instituting a play-in, both of which seemed to have been accomplished.
So here are all the possible scenarios regarding which seed and, when applicable, which opponent the Trail Blazers will face if/when they qualify for the play-in. The easiest way to remember it is if the Trail Blazers win, they’re the eight-seed no matter what. But if they lose, they could end up anywhere from eight to eleven. Luckily, Portland plays the nightcap on Thursday, so they’ll already know what they’re up against by the 6 p.m. tipoff versus the Nets.
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• If the Trail Blazers win and the Grizzlies win, the Blazers are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Grizzlies, regardless of what the Suns and Spurs do.
• If the Trail Blazers win, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns lose and the Spurs win, the Trail Blazers are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Spurs.
• If the Trail Blazers win, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns win and the Spurs lose, the Trail Blazers are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Suns.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns lose and the Spurs lose, the Trail Blazers are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Grizzlies.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies win, the Suns win and the Spurs win, the Grizzlies are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Suns with the Trail Blazers finishing 11th.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies win, the Suns lose and the Spurs win, the Grizzlies are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Spurs with the Trail Blazers finishing 10th.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns win and the Spurs win, the Suns are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Spurs with the Trail Blazers finishing 10th.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns lose and the Spurs win, the Spurs are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Trail Blazers.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies win, the Suns win and the Spurs lose, the Grizzlies are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Suns with the Trail Blazers finishing 10th.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies lose, the Suns win and the Spurs lose, the Suns are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Trail Blazers.
• If the Trail Blazers lose, the Grizzlies win, the Suns lose and the Spurs lose, the Grizzlies are the eight-seed facing the nine-seed Trail Blazers.