Who doesn't love a good Cinderella in the Spring?
The Blazers had a pretty up-and-down regular season. The front office thought they made some steady improvements to the overall squad with slightly bigger additions (PG De’Anthony Melton, PF Deyonta Davis and C Brandon McCoy) than subtractions (PG Jalen Brunson, SF Oshae Brissett and C Ike Anigbogu). Yet the net result was the exact same as last year’s in terms of wins and losses: 53-29. The team’s metrics did look slightly better this regular season than last, but the end result was nearly identical.
So how have the Blazers enjoyed so much more success in the playoffs this year’s one-and-done? For starters, the Blazers actually didn’t play too bad last year. Yes, they lost in the first round, but they lost in 7 games on the road against a Timberwolves squad that was uber-talented. The Wolves obviously went on to win the title, and they did it without needing another game 7. So how did the Blazers get over the hump and find themselves in the CSL finals?
1st round - Minnesota Timberwolves: 4-1
Same exact opponent as last year’s 1st round certainly had the Blazers worried, but there were a couple key differences. One being that the Timberwolves were targeted in the off-season (which is often the case for teams coming off extremely successful seasons). They lost stud PG Anfernee Simons on a max contract bid by the New Orleans Pelicans. After a turbulent start to the season, the Wolves did a nice job of righting the ship with Kerwin Roach really coming into his own, but it’s very hard to replace an Anfernee Simons completely. The other key difference was that the Blazers held home court advantage this time around (despite having the exact same record as last year, ha). On the surface, it looks like the Blazers breezed through this series in 5 games, but in reality, they were 5 competitive games. The difference in the series ended up being 1 little road game (a 4 point win in Minnesota). The home team won the other 4 games. There’s still not a ton that separates these two teams.
2nd round - Houston Rockets: 4-0
I actually don’t know what to say about this one. The Rockets beasted their way to the top seed in the West with an impressive 59-23 record, and they dominated the Denver Nuggets in the 1st round. They swept the Nuggets with all 4 games being double-digit victories. All signs pointed to this being their year after Kyrus spent years molding this really impressive Rockets squad. So I am legitimately perplexed as to what in the hell happened here. Was it a matchup thing? Did the Rockets’ shooting just go ice cold at the worst possible time? Your guess is probably better than mine. We came out with 2 blow-out road wins in Houston to start the series and didn’t look back on our way to a head-scratching sweep.
Conference Finals – Memphis Grizzlies: 4-3
Things really got interesting in this series. Despite the Blazers having an excellent first couple rounds, the Grizzlies’ was undoubtedly even more impressive. They took down Zion and the Dallas Mavericks (56-26 record) in the opening round despite falling behind 2-0 to start the series. Then they swept the Sacramento Kings (59-23 record) in the second round. Both teams entered the series mostly healthy, but things quickly got ugly for the Blazers. Tyrese Haliburton went down after game 1, Markelle Fultz went down after game 2, and Brandon McCoy went down after game 4. That’s 3 starters that went down for the rest of the series for the Blazers, including the starting back court. A number of people around the CSL counted the Blazers out (and who could blame them?), but the team scrapped and clawed their way to a 7 game series win, punctuated by a big 119-77 win. The team deserves a lot of credit for battling tough despite the injuries, but no doubt luck and home court played big factors in this one.
CSL Finals – Atlanta Hawks: 1-2
At the time of this article, the Blazers trail the Hawks 2-1. Fortunately, the Blazers have seen all 3 of their injured starters return to the squad by game 3. But the Hawks are a juggernaut of a squad. They can score inside and outside, they apply elite defensive pressure to opposing back courts, and they dominate the glass. The Blazers once again find themselves the underdog (and for good reason against this Hawks squad), but fans and team personnel expect to see them continue fighting. They’ll need to hold home court and find a way to win a road game, which won’t be an easy task, but with the Blazers’ unparalleled outside shooting, anything is possible in a small series like this. Regardless of how the rest of the series goes, this season and playoff run will go down as a success and one that fans will remember fondly for years to come.
Go Blazers
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
