PORTLAND, Ore. — Through the first 34 games of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA. But with the new year upon us, Portland's schedule eases considerably and if the Blazers want to challenge for home court or avoid the play-in, they must take advantage of a soft upcoming schedule.
Portland's strength of schedule this season currently ranks 12th in the league, according to ESPN. Portland's remaining schedule is a bit easier, ranking 16th in the NBA, Tankathon reports. Over the next month, the Blazers' schedule is particularly easy, with a home-heavy slate of games mostly against teams below them in the standings.
The Blazers play 11 of their next 16 games at home. In addition to the majority of games being at home, the strength of opponents also eases up, with 11 of the 16 games against teams currently below Portland in the standings, including eight games against teams with records below .500.
The Blazers also have a handful of games against teams they're chasing, including a three-game stretch from Jan. 14-17 against the Dallas Mavericks (in a home-and-home back-to-back) and the Denver Nuggets (on the road). Portland trails Dallas by a half-game in the standings and the Nuggets, currently tied for first in the West, by four games.
After a strong start to the season, when the Blazers opened by winning 10 of their first 14 games, Portland has not played as well, winning just eight of its past 20 games. The Blazers are currently eighth in the Western Conference standings. If the playoffs started today, Portland would be in the play-in. The upcoming schedule gives the Blazers a chance to stack some wins and move up in the standings.
Other teams' injuries could benefit Portland
The Western Conference standings are bunched up, with only five games separating the 10th-place team, the Golden State Warriors, from the New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets, currently tied for first in the conference. That means the West remains open to any team that gets hot and makes a run.
Portland, for example, is currently in eighth place. But the Blazers are only two games out of fourth place — the top four teams in the conference get homecourt advantage in the playoffs — and four games out of first place. Conversely, Portland is just 2.5 games ahead of the team currently ranked 11th. Only 10 teams make the playoffs or play-in.
A hot streak could put the Blazers in position to challenge for homecourt advantage in the playoffs, while a cold spell could push the Blazers further down the standings and even out of the playoff picture. Something that could help the Blazers, if they can do their part by winning games, is that teams ahead of them in the standings are dealing with injuries to key players.
The Phoenix Suns (20-16), currently in fifth place and one game ahead of Portland, recently learned that their best player, star guard Devin Booker, will miss at least four weeks with a groin injury.
The L.A. Clippers (21-15), in fourth place and two games ahead of the Blazers, continue to deal with periodic absences from their two stars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Leonard has missed 20 games this season and George 10, though both have played more often in the past couple weeks.
The Mavericks (19-16), in seventh place, a half-game ahead of Portland, are missing a key starter in forward Dorian Finney-Smith, expected to miss at least another couple of weeks with a hip injury, and reserve big man Maxi Kleber, who tore his right hamstring and doesn't have a set time for when he'll return.
Teams trying to catch the Blazers in the standings are also dealing with injuries to key players. The Golden State Warriors (18-18, eighth place, one game behind Portland) will be without star guard Stephen Curry for at least the next two weeks. And head coach Steve Kerr said starting forward Andrew Wiggins is doubtful to play Friday against the Blazers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves (16-19, 11th place, 2.5 games ahead of the Blazers) are without star center Karl-Anthony Towns for at least the next four weeks. And the Los Angeles Lakers (14-21, 13th place, 4.5 games behind Portland) will miss star forward Anthony Davis for at least the next two weeks.
Though they're relatively healthy, the Blazers aren't without their own injury concerns. They're missing some key players off the bench in Justise Winslow, who will miss at least the next two weeks with an ankle injury, Nassir Little, still recovering from a hip fracture, and Gary Payton II, Portland's top free-agent signing who has yet to play a game this season as he recovers from off-season surgery. But Portland's top players are all healthy, unlike some of the teams they're competing against in the playoff race.
Jusuf Nurkic, long-range marksman
Portland starting center Jusuf Nurkic is playing his best basketball of the season. In the past 11 games, he's averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals, while shooting 60.6% from the field. Nurkic has also shot 52% from the 3-point line during that stretch on 2.3 attempts per game.
The 3-point shot has become a dangerous tool for Nurkic and the Blazers. In Monday's game against the Hornets, he hit a career high five 3-pointers. With his marksmanship from deep improving and Nurkic becoming a more willing 3-point shooter, it spaces out opposing defenses and opens driving lanes for his teammates.
For the season, Nurkic is shooting 46.4% from 3 on 1.9 attempts per game. Prior to this season, Nurkic didn't shoot 3-pointers that often and didn't usually make them when he did. In the eight seasons prior to this one, Nurkic shot just 23.2% from 3 on 0.3 attempts per game. He had never attempted more than 1.3 attempts per game in a season and that number was from the eight games Nurkic played in the NBA bubble after returning from a broken leg at the end of the 2019-20 season.