The Best, Worst and Likeliest Scenarios For The Blazers This Season

The Portland Trail Blazers are 28-30 through 58 games this season and are hoping to be in the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

There are a couple of different paths the Blazers can go down this season, and all of them are very different. Here's a look at each possible scenario the Blazers could find themselves in this season.

Best: Blazers Win Play-In Tournament Games, Advance to Playoffs

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday drives to the basket against Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Blazers currently sit seven games back of the No. 6 seed and 5.5 games back of the No. 11 seed. Therefore, it's almost a certainty that the Blazers will be locked into the Play-In Tournament. This means the Blazers need to hope that they go out and win at least one, if not two Play-In games.

In this hypothetical ideal situation, the Blazers would finish in the top eight, meaning they would have two chances to win a game and advance to the playoffs. If they can win the first game, they will be the number seven seed, which will also get them a chance to avoid the first-place team, whether it be the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.

It's hard to imagine the Blazers beating either the Spurs or Thunder in a seven-game series, but getting there would be a massive accomplishment for the franchise.

Worst: Blazers Lose First Play-In Tournament Game

The Blazers are likely going to be in the play-in tournament, regardless of what they do in the second half of the season. However, it would be considered a failure at this point if they were to lose their first play-in game and be eliminated after that.

The Blazers are capable of winning in the play-in tournament. They just need to go out and do it. They could run into a Los Angeles Clippers team that is really hungry for a win, so that could ruin their chances, but the Blazers are capable of winning a game or two. Therefore, an immediate loss and elimination would be their worst possible scenario.

Likeliest: Blazers Win First Play-In Game, Lose Second, Miss Playoffs

As of now, the Blazers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference. This means that they will have a home Play-In game against the No. 10 seed, which is likely to be the Clippers.

The Blazers would be favored in that game, but then they would have to go on the road to play the Phoenix Suns or Golden State Warriors in a matchup that would deem them underdogs. The Blazers might not be ready for two consecutive elimination game victories, which would result in their elimination just before the playoffs.