Mar
17
Playoff Picture: March 17th
By sarahhecht Posted in: playoffs
It’s another big night for the Trail Blazers.
In what could viewed as a "trap game," following the big win over Dallas, the Trail Blazers need to come out with fire again. It's imperative that we accomplish two goals down the stretch: 1. Win at home 2. Win the "easy" games. I know that there are no "easy" games in the NBA, anyone can win on any night. That said, we all know there are games that certain teams SHOULD win. Tonight is one of those games. We should beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Keeping focused on the task at hand and not looking ahead is important and difficult to do with the playoffs so close... I'm confident in our guys.
The Rose Garden faithful need to bring it tonight. Let's do our part and bring the noise to rattle the Cavs.
Last night's scores and effects:
The
Denver Nuggets toppled the 
Atlanta Hawks 102-87 in Atlanta. Both teams maintained the 5th seed in their respective Conferences. The Nuggets success puts them two full games ahead of New Orleans in the 6th seed and two and a half games ahead of the Trail Blazers in the 7th seed.
The
Oklahoma City Thunder beat the 
Miami Heat 96-85 in Miami. The win for the Thunder keeps them in 4th in the West. The Heat didn’t go down easily in this one. Just ask Kevin Durant who was given the business in the form of a wicked pick by former Trail Blazers Juwan Howard.
The
Phoenix Suns fell to the 
New Orleans Hornets 95-100 in New Orleans. This game had movement implications for both teams. The win for the Hornets moved them back into 6th and bumped the Trail Blazers down to 7th in the West. The loss for the Suns dropped them from 9th to 11th, which is tough when you’re chasing a berth into the playoffs.
The
Charlotte Bobcats lost to the 
Houston Rockets 78-94 in Houston. The Rockets moved into 10th are are two and a half games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff seed in the West.
The
Minnesota Timberwolves were defeated by the 
Utah Jazz 104-119 in Utah. The Jazz are moving on up. Their triumph over the Timberwolves moved them into 9th in the West. They’re a game and a half behind Memphis in 8th.
Tonight’s games with Western Conference potential playoff teams:
Memphis Grizzlies (37-31) vs. 
New York Knicks (34-32) This game is very important for Memphis. They’re holding onto the 8th and final playoff seed in the Western Conference. A loss would bring the Utah Jazz, in 9th, to within one game. A win would widen the gap to two full games. The greater the distance between 8th and 9th the better off the Grizz are.
Cleveland Cavaliers (13-53) vs. 
Portland Trail Blazers (38-29) A must-win for the Trail Blazers. In the 2nd game of a three-game homestand the Trail Blazers can’t let down. Protecting home court for the final nine games in the Rose Garden is vital in the push to the playoffs.
Here are the playoff match-ups as of today.
What do you predict for the Trail Blazers tonight?