Blazers Prepared to Finish Strong as Playoffs Approach

The Portland Trail Blazers are in a heated race for playoff seeding and possible home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs. They’re on the heels of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets (who are both 42-26) for a top-four seed with a record of 41-26. Terry Stotts highlighted how tough the West is in a conversation with Joe Freeman of the Oregonian:

“I’m fine with where we are, but we have a lot of work to do,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Look at the swings in the standings this past week. Every game has importance. I don’t think we’re ever going to have a chance to catch our breath, because it’s so tight from three through eight in the West.”

Damian Lillard is confident in the team’s play as they enter the last month of the season:

“I love where we are,” Lillard said. “It feels like (we are) a complete team. It feels like our style of play is very sustainable for us. We can be successful like this. I like that about the way things are right now.”

You can read more from Freeman’s piece here.