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Trail Blazers 2016-17 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds, Record Predictions
- Updated: August 12, 2016
The Portland Trail Blazers have qualified for the postseason each of the last three seasons and six times in the past eight years. Now the focus shifts toward finding more consistent playoff success after winning just two series in those recent appearances.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have developed into one of the most explosive backcourt tandems in the league. That said, the question is whether the front office has put enough around them to compete with the best teams in the league.
Let’s check out all of the team’s important information following the league’s schedule release. That’s followed by a look at what’s to come this season and a record prediction.
2016-17 Details
Season Opener: Tuesday, Oct. 25 vs. Utah Jazz
Championship Odds: 80-1 (via Odds Shark)
Full Schedule: NBA.com
Top Matchups
Golden State Warriors (Nov. 1, Dec. 17, Jan. 4 and Jan. 29)
Portland was riding high after upsetting the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round of the playoffs last season. Any thoughts of a magical journey toward the NBA Finals quickly came to an end, however, as the Warriors eliminated the Blazers in five games.
Golden State has become the ultimate measuring stick in the Western Conference, and the addition of prized free agent Kevin Durant only further solidifies that status. Along with the playoff matchup, the Warriors also won three of the four regular-season meetings with Rip City last season.
Furthermore, Jesse Blanchard of BBall Breakdown noted the teams are on similar paths, so there’s no escaping the Dubs for Portland:
These Blazers are kinda on the same timeline as the Warriors and Kawhi’s Spurs. Could conceivably outlast current Clippers.
— Jesse Blanchard (@blanchardJRB) July 20, 2016
The Blazers must make significant strides defensively in order to make the head-to-head battles more competitive. They gave up at least 120 points in five of the nine contests last year. That’s not …
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