Blazers Built to Outlast Jazz and Grizzlies in Western Conference Playoff Race

The Portland Trail Blazers stand on uneven ground in the Western Conference playoff picture through their first 26 games in the 2025-26 season. They're ahead of the conference's cellar-dwellers, the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans, but they're sitting in the No. 11 seed right now.

Right behind the Blazers in the standings is the Dallas Mavericks, who are finally coming together after a rough start due to Ryan Nembhard's emergence in the backcourt and Anthony Davis' return from injury. They have too much talent, even without Derrick Lively II for the season due to surgery on his foot and Kyrie Irving until March or April, to carve out a comfortable role in the playoff picture. They should surpass Portland at some point and not look back.

The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, the two teams ahead of them in the standings, are different stories. Buoyed heavily by recent draft picks, both teams have similar questions about injuries and depth to the Blazers.

Can Portland pass them and keep them in the rearview?

Jazz May be Too Heavily Reliant on Keyonte George

Utah is hitching its wagon to Keyonte George sustaining what's been a torrid pace through the first 25 games of his season. George is averaging 23.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game with a 2.4 OBPM. His defensive impact is still lagging, but his instincts are improving as he gains experience at a pro level after a single season with the Baylor Bears.

George's college career calls into question whether what we're seeing is more "Linsanity" than the beginning of a building block career on the Jazz. He was never an elite distributor and didn't shoot the ball well. Of course, Will Hardy's coaching staff may just be elite at player development. Still, there's equally a chance that this is the best basketball he'll play all year, or even in his entire career.

Utah may be playing on fumes after losing Walker Kessler to a labrum tear for the entire campaign. They've gone 7-10, picking up five wins by scoring 130 points or more. Needless to say, they won't be able to run teams out of the gym like that all year.

Their fall back down to earth probably coincides with George's.

Grizzlies Have Culture Problems That May be Fatal

Memphis has plenty of talent, but it may never come together after the franchise took a massive turn a few years ago and hasn't turned back. Once a plucky underdog, the Grizzlies have become an unlikable group on and off the court that lost their identity and picked up a superficial persona that dishonors the Grit 'n' Grind mentality guys like Zach Randolph instilled over a decade ago.

Guys like Dillon Brooks, who helped build that facadem are gone, but there's still a major culprit: Ja Morant.

Morant clashed with first-year head coach Tuomas Iisalo, resulting in a suspension. He's been going viral for his actions on the court in street clothes, not what he does in a Grizzlies uniform. And of note, that viral incident was with Deni Avdija.

Memphis has eight double-digit scorers, but not a single one over 20 PPG. Morant is supposed to be that guy, but he's been nursing an ankle injury and has been injury-prone for several seasons now, since looking like an MVP candidate during the 2021-22 season.

With no star and the closest to being one unable to act right, there's no reason to think the Grizzlies can keep up an NBA Play-In pace.

Blazers Have Talent to Surpass Jazz and Grizzlies

Between Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, and Jrue Holiday, when he returns, the Blazers have enough guys who can score 20 on any night, plus a deep and physical big man rotation to do the dirty work for them, to be a playoff team this season.

They should be expected to surpass the shallow Jazz or the unfocused Grizzlies in the standings at some point. And stay there.