The Blazers' Three Biggest Roadblocks to Making NBA Play-In Tournament

The Portland Trail Blazers have seen positive steps forward from Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe, to borderline star and elite volume scorer, respectively, but it's clear Rip City has enough issues to make fans sweat down the stretch in the playoff race.

It's unclear if the team we're seeing now will be the one that's potentially fighting for its life in one of the final NBA Play-In Tournament slots or not. There should be at least one trade by the February 5 deadline based on the team's trajectory and current intel. Robert Williams III and Jerami Grant are sensible trade candidates.

If the Blazers find themselves on the outside looking in come April, these three teams/players will be responsible:

James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez, and the Clippers

James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are proving they still have enough left in the tank this season to steer the Los Angeles Clippers away from tanking this season. Despite the Clippers' awful start to the season, a three-game winning streak put them right back into the mix. The bottom of the Western Conference's playoff picture has several teams with losing records, so no one is totally out of it just yet.

Over the past week, Brook Lopez has come along for LA, punctuating it with 31 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and nine made three-pointers in 14 attempts during a 119-103 win over Portland this past Friday. Lopez has been a bit player most of the year, but the team is winning more games with Ivica Zubac out of the lineup and Lopez playing starter minutes.

The Clippers may not be done just yet. That's not good for the Blazers, considering LA is built to win meaningful games late in the season, and Portland is heavily reliant on youth.

Keyonte George and the Jazz

Keyonte George's emergence for the Utah Jazz has been breaking brains this season. While his trajectory forecasted another jump, an All-Star leap was on practically no one's radar coming into the 2025-26 campaign.

As Lauri Markkanen's 1A counterpart, George is doing everything on the floor, averaging 24 points, seven assists, and four rebounds on an efficient 45% shooting. All that's missing is elite defense. Who knows where conversations might head if George can improve on that end.

Already, though, George's play is inspiring postseason thoughts in Salt Lake City. The team is young, perhaps overly reliant on recent draft picks like Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski, and Isaiah Collier. Still, the Western Conference is shallow enough for a team like Utah to get hot at the right time and snag a Play-In spot.

With three matchups left against their Northwest Division rival, the Blazers have a chance to not be part of any hypothetical hot streak.

Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks

This one may be inevitable.

With No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg arriving ahead of schedule, Anthony Davis looking like his old self, and Kyrie Irving's presence still something they've benefited from, the Dallas Mavericks may be undeniable in the playoff race. The Blazers, Clippers, and Jazz may not be the teams the Mavs find themselves surrounded by in the standings come April.

Dallas has been a different team with Ryan Nembhard playing in an expanded role. Irving is on a different level of play-making and shot-creating. Next to Davis and Irving, with continued scoring support from P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and Max Christie, Flagg looks capable of leading this team into the top half of the NBA Play-In field, if not the No. 6 seed or higher.