Blazers Officially Eliminated From Playoffs After Big Win

Despite recording a huge win, Portland will miss the postseason for the fourth straight year.

Apr 6, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA: Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Despite notching an impressive 120-109 Sunday win over a chippy San Antonio Spurs club missing its two All-Stars, center Victor Wembanyama and point guard De'Aaron Fox, the Portland Trail Blazers nevertheless saw themselves eliminated from the Western Conference playoffs with a 35-44 season finish.

Even if Portland wins out and ties the (currently) 38-41 Dallas Mavericks' regular season finish, Dallas possesses the first tiebreaker, inter-conference record (23-27).

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The Sacramento Kings notched a surprise 120-113 upset victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, improving to a 38-40 record on the season.

Sacramento, also, sports a far superior inter-conference record (25-24) to the Trail Blazers, meaning Portland cannot surpass the Kings even if the Trail Blazers finish with the same record.

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The 35-43 Phoenix Suns, currently 2.5 games behind Dallas, are still technically alive, but they'll essentially need to win out — and for the Kings and Mavericks to lose out — to survive. Despite fielding a mostly healthy Kevin Durant and Devin Booker for much of the year and being coached by 2021 champ Mike Budenholzer, the Suns have looked deeply checked out all year.

Portland will miss the postseason for the fourth straight year under head coach Chauncey Billups.

Shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe shone bright in the win over San Antonio, notching a 21-point, 10-rebound, six-assist masterpiece. Sharpe's 21 points arrived on a fairly inefficient 5-of-17 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe.

All-Defensive Team contender Toumani Camara notched a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double, on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor (4-of-11 from long range) and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.

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Regular Trail Blazers rotation pieces Deni Avdija, Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson and Robert Williams III all sat out.

Given that Portland doesn't seem to expect much postseason action out of its intriguing young lineup, it makes sense that the club would ultimately want to get another crack at the lottery, especially for what is expected to be a stacked 2025 NBA Draft.

Still, the Trail Blazers have posted an encouraging 22-16 record since January 19, while also registering one of the league's best five defenses since then. There's plenty for the team to build on for the future.

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