3 Ideal Play-In Opponents For Blazers

Which teams should the Portland Trail Blazers prefer to face if this scrappy club does, surprisingly, reach the 2025 postseason?

After falling to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, the 32-42 Trail Blazers currently occupy the No. 12 seed in the crowded Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the 35-38 Phoenix Suns (the No. 12 seed), three games behind the 36-38 Dallas Mavericks (the No. 10 seed) and four games behind the 36-37 Kings (the No. 9 seed).

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With just eight games left on its schedule, Portland has no chance of catching the 41-31 Golden State Warriors or the 41-32 Minnesota Timberwolves, currently the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the West, although the 41-31 L.A. Clippers and perhaps even the 44-29 Los Angeles Lakers or Memphis Grizzlies could fall back to the pack.

Essentially, should Portland make the playoffs, it will be because the team won both its play-in tournament games en route to securing the West's No. 8 seed. The Trail Blazers would thus face off against the mighty 61-12 Oklahoma City Thunder as a massive underdog in the first round.

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So which teams should the Trail Blazers most want to face in said play-in tournament? Of its three potential 9-10 bracket opponents, let's unpack the candidates.

1. Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are down their best player, Luka Doncic.

That might be because they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, who didn't even last a full game before getting hurt.

But Dallas is also going to be without its best current player, Kyrie Irving, who had surgery earlier this week to address an ACL tear in his left knee.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that Kyrie Irving underwent a successful surgery to repair a torn left knee ACL.

Further medical updates regarding Irving’s status will be provided as appropriate.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) March 27, 2025

Davis has only played three games since the Doncic deal, although he has looked pretty great in those three games. Suiting up against an unbalanced (albeit jumbo-sized) roster sans Irving and defense-first backup guard Dante Exum would be ideal for Portland.

2. Sacramento Kings

The Kings, like Dallas, don't have a traditional point guard leading their attack. Also like the Mavericks, Sacramento traded away its All-Star lead guard, in this case De'Aaron Fox, to a Western Conference rival.

Former sixth man Malik Monk was initially installed as the Kings' starting point guard, and though he's a terrific scorer, he's not a normal orchestrator of an offense. Third-year guard Keon Ellis has replaced him as a starter of late, however. Former All-Star wings Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan have served as supplemental creators, as has All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.

But nobody on this team plays defense, and Portland has a major youth advantage on Sacramento.

gettin' facny wit it 🤌🔥 pic.twitter.com/BARGeag0H2
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 28, 2025

Granted, the Kings just walloped the Trail Blazers in Sacramento, 128-107, to end their own four-game losing skid on Thursday. But Portland was playing without starting center Deandre Ayton and starting power forward Jerami Grant, both of whom should ostensibly be back in time for a play-in bout.

3. Phoenix Suns

The Suns have shown signs of life with former All-Star guard Bradley Beal shelved due to an injury. All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker and All-Star power forward Kevin Durant have put up solid individual stats, but have failed to mesh with their comrades. First-year head coach Mike Budenholzer has been tinkering with his first five all year.

After Budenholzer permanently benched center Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix traded to acquire Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets.

In transition... Book it. pic.twitter.com/RMunlrAGGn
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 27, 2025

Budenholzer has toggled the point guard and small forward positions. Most recently, Collin Gillespie and Ryan Dunn have been serving in those roles, respectively. The results have been largely positive, although Phoenix has still looked vulnerable against elite teams. Even with All-Star Jayson Tatum hurt, the Celitcs still demolished the Suns by 30 points, 132-102, on Wednesday.

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.