This season has been an interesting one for the Portland Trail Blazers. They started the season short-handed and while they added Carmelo Anthony early on, it wasn't enough to put them in the playoff picture. Regardless, the team has managed to hang around in the Western Conference's Top 10, and now that they are in the bubble, they are fighting for a playoff spot. In fact, with Jusuf Nurkic back in the lineup, the Blazers have been a whole new team and are just a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth.
Superstar point guard Damian Lillard has been on fire and after missing key free throws in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers over the weekend, Lillard came right back and dropped 51 points on the Philadelphia 76ers, in a massive must-win. Following the game, Lillard spoke out about why he wanted to redeem himself.
“We let one slip that we should have had yesterday. I was a big part of why that got away from us. Tonight I was like, that’s not going to happen," Lillard said.
Even if the Blazers don't get the eighth seed, they will still have a shot at getting into the postseason thanks to the special bubble city play-in rule. As of right now, momentum is on the Blazers side, so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.