The Portland Trail Blazers are the three seed right now in the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association. However, the difference between the three seed and the ten seed is not very many games at this point in the season.
They are behind the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets who look as if they are on a different level so far this year with their play.
Damian Lillard has been just what the Blazers need in terms of scoring and giving the ball to his teammates in the perfect moments. His supporting cast of CJ McCollum, Ed Davis, Evan Turner and others has also been playing extremely well lately.
Davis has become one of the best offensive-rebounders in the league and has been giving the team a lot of second-chance opportunities.
This team is playing well together and recently coming off of a win against the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry.
Many are still wondering if this Blazer team is legitimate in the West because they will most likely have to face the Rockets or the Warriors, and they haven’t made it too far in previous seasons.
They are all playing well right now and hitting a hot streak, but it may be too early and the other teams may be too much in the playoffs.
James Harden and the Rockets, as well as, Stephen Curry with the Warriors are the primed favorites to be in the Western Conference Finals. The two teams are well above the rest of the conference and have the most stars on their team.
The Warriors are probably the favorites again to represent the West in the Finals, just because of their talent and experience being there multiple years in a row now.
In order for this Blazer team to stay in the three seed, as well as continue on to win some playoff games, they will need a few things to happen.
They will need to stay hot and keep making their shots, they will need Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to continue shooting extremely well, the supporting cast as well as young players getting more involved, and maybe some luck from the other teams losing.
I fully expect the Trail Blazers to make it into the playoffs, but I am unsure how far they will make it in the extremely talented Western Conference.