Let’s just get the spoiler out of the way up front: None of today’s NBA results helped the Portland Trail Blazers. But we’ll go through them anyway, and recap Portland’s draft lottery position at the end.
The San Antonio Spurs came oh-so-close to upsetting the Golden State Warriors, but a late Klay Thompson three-pointer stopped the upset bid. With the Spurs closing in on the Blazers’ record, and Portland owning the Warriors’ protected first-round pick, this was not the desired result.
The LA Clippers took a first half lead on the Hornets, and never gave it up. Charlotte plays the Celtics Monday night before their meeting with the Blazers on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets, who are chasing the Warriors for the final West play-in spot, were demolished by the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors are still solidly in the play-in game thanks to this result combined with their win.
Also, the Philadelphia 76ers easily beat the Toronto Raptors. It’s very believable that the Raptors will end the season on a 21-game losing streak, encompassing literally over one-quarter of the season.
And so, as the spoiler at the top indicated, nothing has changed for the Blazers on Sunday. Here’s a recap of the NBA standings, using my previous update for the big details.
6. Toronto Raptors, 23-51 (4 wins ahead)
5. Portland Trail Blazers, 19-55
4. Charlotte Hornets, 18-56 (1 win behind)
3. San Antonio Spurs, 18-57 (1 win behind)
In their final eight games, the Blazers play six playoff contenders, and two teams looking at the lottery: The Wizards and the Hornets.
The Hornets, outside of their tilt with the Blazers on April 3rd, play all their games against teams battling for playoff position.
The Spurs play many contenders down the stretch, including the Nuggets and Thunder, but also will play the Grizzlies and last-place Pistons.
If you’ve made it this far, watch this bonus highlight: Oklahoma City and the Knicks going down to the wire, in the not-crummy game of the night.
As for the Trail Blazers, they play Monday night in Orlando, at 4:00 pm PDT.