Standings Update: Everything Goes Wrong for the Trail Blazers

Beware all ye who enter here: No good news lies within. Every meaningful score Friday night went against the Blazers, who lost ground on every relevant team in the Western Conference. But in the process, the overall playoff picture may be clearer.

Friday’s results

Nuggets 119, Blazers 110
Spurs 129, Wizards 112
Rockets 120, Knicks 96
Thunder 123, Pistons 110
Jazz 119, Kings 98
Warriors 120, Cavaliers 114
Lakers 122, Clippers 117

Current Standings

Everything is the same here... except the Blazers. They lost a full game in the standings to the Nuggets, Rockets, and Jazz. Utah is now one game behind Portland, and own the tiebreaker.

2. Nuggets: 53-26
3. Rockets: 52-28 (1.5 games back)
4. Blazers: 50-29 (3 games back)
5. Jazz: 49-30 (4 games back)

The big news: With Denver’s win, Portland can no longer reach the 2 seed. Seeds 3, 4, & 5 are still in play for the Blazers.

Tiebreaker questions? Eric Griffith has you covered. And here are the full standings.

Upcoming Games

Saturday:

All relevant teams are idle. Enjoy the day off.

Sunday:

Nuggets at Blazers | 6:00 PDT
Spurs at Cavaliers | Noon PDT
Thunder at Timberwolves | 12:30 PDT
Suns at Rockets | 4:00 PDT | NBA TV
Clippers at Warriors | 5:30 PDT
Jazz at Lakers | 6:30 PDT | NBA TV

What Can Happen Sunday

Another costly loss to a Northwest Division opponent could put the Blazers on the outside looking in on home-court advantage. If Portland loses and Utah wins, they will pull even in the standings. The head-to-head series is split—giving the Jazz the advantage thanks to their record in division and conference.

It was certainly ugly for the Blazers on Friday, but the Clippers’ untimely loss to the Lakers places them three games out of the hunt for home-court advantage. LA returns to action with a trip to Golden State on Sunday and a date with Utah at home before the regular season concludes.

Remaining Schedule

Denver Nuggets:

at Trail Blazers (Apr 7)
at Jazz (Apr 9)
vs. Timberwolves (Apr 10, B2B)

Portland Trail Blazers:

vs. Nuggets (Apr 7)
at Lakers (Apr 9)
vs. Kings (Apr 10, B2B)

Houston Rockets:

vs. Suns (Apr 7)
at Thunder (Apr 9)

Utah Jazz:

at Lakers (Apr 7)
vs. Nuggets (Apr 9)
at Clippers (Apr 10, B2B)

Blazers’ Opponent Right Now

With tonight’s changes to the standings, the odds are extremely high that Portland will be facing Utah in a first-round 4/5 matchup. But nothing is in stone yet. If this update wasn’t alarming enough, check out Jeff Siegel’s breakdown of what a series between the Blazers and Jazz might look like.