The Toughest Stretch in Blazers' 2026-27 Schedule

The Portland Trail Blazers are figuring out how to navigate their 2026-27 schedule, and it starts out with a very challenging first 20 games in late October and all of November.

The Blazers will start out playing 12 of their first 17 games on the road, which will test their rotation and force them to face tough opponents early. If the Blazers can overcome these challenges early on, it could lead to a smooth rest of the year. The Blazers will gauge how their team stacks up against top-tier opponents.

Here's a look at the Blazers' schedule for the first 20 games of the year:

Date	Opponent
Oct. 21	vs. Suns
Oct. 23	@ Kings
Oct. 27	@ Lakers
Oct. 29	vs. Grizzlies
Oct. 31	@ Jazz
Nov. 2	@ Nuggets
Nov. 4	@ Suns
Nov. 6	@ Lakers
Nov. 7	vs. Spurs
Nov. 10	vs. Thunder
Nov. 11	vs. Thunder
Nov. 13	@ Kings
Nov. 16	@ Wolves
Nov. 17	@ Wolves
Nov. 19	@ Bucks
Nov. 21	@ Knicks
Nov. 23	@ 76ers
Nov. 25	vs. Spurs
Nov. 27	vs. Warriors
Nov. 29	vs. Pelicans

Key Games and Early Road Trips in October and November

Out of the Blazers' first five home games, there are four playoff teams from a year ago. Their first contest comes against the Phoenix Suns in the home opener, a team they beat in the play-in tournament in mid-April. The Suns will come out hot, and the Blazers have to be ready to cool them down.

Their next game comes a little over a week later, on October 29, when the Memphis Grizzlies come to town. The Grizzlies are expected to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, but it also marks the first game Ja Morant will play against his former team, creating a competitive atmosphere.

The Blazers have a three-game homestand early in November before heading out for a six-game road trip, which spans over 5,000 miles. They will face off against the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back and have another back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blazers likely won't be favorites in any of those three games, despite playing at home.

The six-game road trip has some winnable games against the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks, but they will also face off twice against the Minnesota Timberwolves on a back-to-back.

They will also face the defending champion New York Knicks and LeBron James' Philadelphia 76ers to close out the trip. When they come back home for their first Moda Center contest in two weeks, they face off against the Spurs once again on national TV.

The Blazers will travel thousands of miles throughout the two long road trips. Even though the first one is keeping them on the West Coast, the East Coast trip will have them hopping around from city to city with decent-sized flights for some of the legs. This will add to the team's fatigue early on.

Out of these 20 games, only six are against teams that did not make the playoffs last season. They also have three back-to-backs, which all feature a team that won a playoff series in the Western Conference last season. This will test the Blazers tremendously, and they will see how their defense holds up against elite backcourts across the league.

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