24-26 (12th in WC) - What will the next 20 games bring?

The Blazers currently sit at the #12 spot in the Western Conference at 24-26 coming off a 3-3 home stand. That puts them at the #10 Lottery spot, but only 2.5 games out of the #4 seed in the West. The right move at the Trade Deadline could move them up to a solid spot in parity muddled standings to where they could get a favorable 1st round matchup that would actually be worth them making the post season.

Here is the schedule for the next 20 games. How will they do? How many games will they even be favored?

@Memphis
@Washington
@Chicago (2nd of B2B)
MILWAUKEE
GOLDEN STATE
OKLAHOMA CITY
LA LAKERS
WASHINGTON (2nd of B2B)

*****All-Star Break*****

@Sacramento
HOUSTON
@Golden State
NEW ORLEANS (2nd of B2B)
@Atlanta
@Orlando
@Detroit
@Boston (2nd of B2B)
@Philadelphia
@New Orleans
NEW YORK
BOSTON

9 home games, 11 road games with 4 back-to-backs. They may only be favored in 6-8 of those games. Of course that depends somewhat on what happens at the Trade Deadline, but even if they were say favored in 8 of 20, won all the games they were 'supposed' to win, where to they pick up a couple more wins to even be at .500? More importantly, where to they pick up an additional 4 wins to bring their overall record to just 36-36 at that point?

Unless they can rediscover whatever it was that got them off to a hot start, they may be running out of time to make that annual run. I'm hoping they go significantly one way or the other. Just sitting in no-man's land is painful. Regardless of them really climbing or really sinking, there is at least some ray of hope on either end.

#DamnTheMiddle

 

“What will the next 20 games bring?”

Pain.

 

That long road trip will be brutal. And we’ll most likely lose to the teams with better records at home, like we have been.

I think we’ll be on the outside looking in of the play in as the season winds down.

Granted, i don’t see us making any moves other than just rearranging the chairs slightly.

I think the Lakers, Raptors, Wizards and possibly even Orlando pass us in the overall standings and we end up with a draft pick similar to last years in the 6-7 range.

Rinse and repeat next year if the back court defense isn’t improved and we don’t add some size or length on the perimeter

 

Agreed, that road trip could get ugly. They didn't take advantage of their home stretches to provide themselves with some buffer for that brutal stretch.

 

I just want to get to 40 wins.

 

Mediocracy

 

I tried to change my vote to 7-10 after actually looking at the schedule, but was not able to.

 

What? No option for 20-0? The greatest win streak in Blazer HISTORY!

 

Yeah, some guys make threads without even thinking.

 

even though I expect less than 10 I voted 11 or more just to offset some of the negativity around here

 

Well on the bright side at least we don't have a starting lineup full of veterans trying to win now and achieving an under .500 record.

We have way more young talent than.......

 

44-26 has a nice ring to it.

 

Vegas really wants 39.

 

@UKRAINEFAN ... What would you change it to?

20-0 falls in the 14+ category. Request money back from your math and statistics teachers.

 

I already get monthly payments 13 times a year for all the damage they did to me.

 

Lillard is crushing it. He's playing so well that even if the other Blazers have off nights, Portland should be able to win at least half their games. Maybe more ??

A 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs looks a heckuva lot better then tanking for a draft pick.

 

I clickede 11-13, wanted to change to 7-10.

 

We’re not really 2.5 games out of the 4 spot. That’s an illusion. We’re just 2.5 games out of the current #4 team. We can catch them and still not be in 4th. If we were 5th right now, then we’d be 2.5 games out of the 4 spot.

 

Why does that look better?