OKC Thunder: Analyzing stretch run schedules with view to seeding
Portland Trail Blazers:
In week 22 Portland hit a bit of a snag suffering the end of their 13 game win streak and like OKC ran into that dang Celtics’ Leprechaun. Not since the February 2, 4 and 5 had the Blazers lost two games in a row. They bounced back Sunday with a gritty effort to sweep the Thunder this season. Clearly, Portland isn’t a team OKC will be keen to meet in round one.
Remaining schedule includes:
- At New Orleans Pelicans, Tuesday 27
- At Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday 28
- LA Clippers, Friday 30
- Memphis Grizzlies, April, Sunday 1
- On road to Dallas Mavericks, Tuesday 3
- At Houston Rockets, Thursday 5
- At San Antonio Spurs, Saturday 7
- On Road to Denver Nuggets, Monday 9
- Utah Jazz, Wednesday 11
Now that the streak has ended the Blazers have nine games remaining to retain the third seed. After taking care of business at home they’ll hit the road for six of these matches. Six is also the number of potential playoff teams they’ll face along with one back to back set.
An interesting schedule draw has Portland playing Denver and Utah to close the season. Both games could be the deciding factor for whether those squads make the postseason.
Portland swept OKC to take the tiebreak. Currently the Blazers have three fewer losses and have played two fewer games which translates into a two game cushion over the Thunder.
The other major question is how Portland will fare on the road. Only four games were played away from the Moda Center during the 13 game win streak.