FanPost

What the Jimmy Butler injury means for the Trail Blazers

The injury gods have been cruel to us NBA fans this season.

Yesterday Gregg Popovich stated that the return of Kawhi Leonard was "unlikely". This was a bummer for not only the Spurs, but all NBA Fans. However, San Antonio has managed to keep up without Kawhi, as LaMarcus Aldridge has stepped up big time and has carried this team to the 3rd seed in the loaded Western Conference with a record of 35-25 through 60 games so far.

The day later, Jimmy Butler came down with what looked like a possible career ending injury against the Rockets. Butler would go on to say that he thought he could have torn his ACL, yet a report came out today saying that he tore his meniscus. Jimmy said he hopes to return come playoff time, so with both Butler and Kawhi likely out for the rest of the regular season, can the Portland Trail Blazers actually grab the third seed?

The Blazers have historically earned the title of a second half team, meaning they play their best basketball when it really matters. I'm counting on Portland to do that again this season. With the race as tight as it is in the Western Conference, every game from here on out came move a team from the seventh seed the the third seed. The Blazers (7th seed) are currently just 1.5 games out of the 3 seed, and yet are also 3 games out of the 10th seed. Every game matters. I'm sure Nuggets fans are writing the same thing right now, as Denver currently paces 6th in the West despite their record being identical to the Trail Blazers'. The Thunder (5th seed, .5 games above Portland) significantly struggled in the beginning of the season, but seem to have figured things out a bit with three ball-dominate players on the same team. But they lost their X Factor in Andre Roberson to a season ending injury and failed to replace him at the Trade Deadline. It's going to be a tight race in the West.

Portland has luckily not had a serious injury strike them yet, and are looking hot after their win over the Warriors, which they backed up with a hug win over the blazing hot Utah Jazz who were currently on an 11 game winning streak. Our next two games come against Phoenix and Sacramento, two of the NBA's 4 worst teams record wise. Those should be easy dubs. Denver plays the NBA's number 1 team (the Houston Rockets) and the LA Clippers, who are just 1.5 games behind them for the sixth seed. OKC faces the NBA's second best team record wise (the Golden State Warriors) and the Mavs, who are pretty bad. Minnesota plays the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings, which should also be easy wins. And finally, the Spurs take on a new look Cavaliers team in Cleveland and then a team pushing to get into the playoffs in the New Orleans Pelicans. I honestly believe that in three days we could be the fourth seed, which would be huge for the Blazers. Nothing to freak out about though, because I doubt there will be much separation between us and the dreaded eighth seed. Don't be surprised if we see a 3-6 upset in the playoffs this year.