Blazers playoff run starts Sunday

The Trail Blazers are bringing back the playoff excitement to Portland once again as they locked up the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference this week after missing the NBA postseason in the two previous years.

And, if Portland’s top players come through, the fun should last longer than just a couple of weeks.

It has been a weird season for the Trail Blazers in many ways, as they started fast and strong on offense and thanks to that, were on top of the Western Conference for a few weeks. Their positive run started in November and continued through December as they only lost six games in those two months (going 25-6) which made them legitimate title contenders at the time.

But everything started to go wrong for the Blazers by the beginning of February as they began to lose more games, sliding down several positions in the conference. The defense that had been below-average all season was a key factor during the bad streak. Damian Lillard’s stardom was not enough as Portland also suffered important injuries, including Joel Freeland, who had a sprained MCL in his right knee, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who had a lower back bruise that made him miss eight games in March.

With Aldridge healthy once again and with Freeland ready for the playoffs, the positive energy has come back to the team, which translated on the court for the last part of the regular season. Winning nine of its final 10 games, Portland now prepares for its first-round battle against the Houston Rockets, a team that gave the Blazers a lot of headaches throughout the season.

Both teams were fighting for weeks for the No. 4 playoff slot that guaranteed home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets won the battle, and secured home court advantage on Monday night as they beat the San Antonio Spurs. Thanks to that win, Portland will start the playoffs on the road in Houston at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

In four meetings between both teams in the regular season, Houston won three, and to many experts, are clear favorites to move on to the second round.

One key player to watch out for on Houston is its playmaker, James Harden. Harden scored 41 points against Portland in their last meeting of the season just a month ago. He will enter the playoffs averaging 25.4 points per game, making him the fifth-highest scorer in the NBA regular season.

Another player sure to help the Rockets is their well-known center, Dwight Howard. Howard is coming back from an ankle injury that kept him out of action for eight games recently. He had a very solid first season with the Rockets, quickly adjusting to their style of play.

Houston also has Jefferson High School (Portland) graduate Terrance Jones, who has made his presence felt this season, averaging 12 points and six rebounds a game as a starter.

If the Trail Blazers hope to move on, they will need a win one of the first two games in Houston, which would erase the home court advantage. Offense is not a problem for Portland, as the Blazers average 102.3 points per game, but they will only win the series against Houston with improved defense.

If Lillard and Matthews can do their job on offense as they have been doing all season long, while Aldridge and Lopez do their job on defense, you can expect to see the Blazers move on from the first round.