The Portland Trail Blazers schedule is very difficult to start the season. It features 13 games played away from Moda Center, with two road trips being at least four games. A chunk of these road games will also be in the midwest part of the country, making the travel schedule very difficult.
Portland Trail Blazers Schedule: Games 1-20
Road Trips
Road trips are going to be the theme of the first quarter of the season. While 13 of the first 20 games are on the road, 10 of those come from two separate road trips. The first four-game road trip will come right after the season-opener at home against the Denver Nuggets. This will feature a road game at the Sacramento Kings, before making their first trek to the Midwest to play the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Following that road trip is a tough four-game stretch. The team will come home to host the Philadelphia 76ers, before heading back out on the road to play the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. Following that, they conclude that four-game stretch by hosting the Brooklyn Nets.
Things do lighten up a little after that by hosting the Atlanta Hawks, going to the Kings again, and then hosting the Toronto Raptors on a back-to-back.
Next Big Road Trip
If the first road trip was tough enough, the next one might be even tougher. It’s a six-game trip that takes them back to the Midwest. The team will play their second game of the season at the Spurs, and then be going to Houston to take on the Houston Rockets. Following that game, on a back-to-back, the team has to go take on Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans.
For the final three games of that trip, the team will be taking on three Eastern Conference teams. These will be games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago Bulls.
Of those final three games, most would presume the Bucks to be the toughest. However, it’s the end of a long road trip in a different part of the country, making games against the Cavaliers and Bulls tougher than they would generally be.
This is the second-toughest road trip of the season, following a six-game East Coast road trip in March.
Final Home Games
The team will come home after that road trip and close out the first quarter of the season with two very winnable games. Those are games against the Thunder and Bulls. Neither of those two will be on a back-to-back, and frankly, those are two games the Trail Blazers should win.
These two games will be very welcome following the tough schedule to start the season.
Overall
With the tough schedule to start the season, it will be tough for new additions like Hassan Whiteside, Kent Bazemore, and Mario Hezonja to get acclimated. Also, it will be a good indicator of what to expect from Anfernee Simons and his increased role with the tough start to the season.
After some of the offseason changes, it will be imperative for Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to come out of the gate playing at a high-level.
The leadership of the backcourt will play a huge role in the team getting off to a fast start. Portland couldn’t have a tougher start to the schedule based on the teams they face and the road trips. However, leadership and culture are in place to manage the tough start.
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