The Portland Trail Blazers schedule is very difficult to start the season. However, in the second quarter of the season, things appear to lighten up. The third quarter is also manageable, on paper.
Portland Trail Blazers Schedule: Games 41-60
Early Road Trip
Following a home game against the Charlotte Hornets, the team will take a road trip to the Southwest.
In that three-game trip, the team will be playing at the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Those final two games also come on a back-to-back. This has the feel of a difficult road trip. Houston, of course, has Russell Westbrook and James Harden, making them dangerous. While the Mavericks have the duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
The game in Oklahoma City should be the easiest of this trip, but it’s on a back-to-back, making it more difficult.
Serious Homestand
Following that road trip, the team will be hosting some very good teams on a four-game homestand.
That homestand opens up with a game against the Golden State Warriors. Following that, is another matchup with the Mavericks, before closing out the homestand against the Indiana Pacers and the Rockets. That has the look of a tough homestand. It should be fun for the fans, and a good test for the team. Frankly, it comes at the perfect time.
Things in the Western Conference Playoff standings will likely be tight, and Portland has a chance to get a few wins over other Western Conference foes. Also, a key underrated part of this stand is that each game will come after two days of rest, except for the first game of the stand, which will be after just one day of rest.
So not only will it be a chance to pick up some big wins, but it’s a chance to get some rest as the season reaches the third quarter.
Portland Trail Blazers Schedule: Before the All-Star Break
Before the All-Star break, the team doesn’t have any long homestand or road trip. However, there are some difficult games in that stretch.
They have a very tough stretch that starts with a trip to Los Angeles to play the Los Angeles Lakers, before coming home to play the Utah Jazz. Then, after a two-day break, the team will travel to Denver to play the Denver Nuggets, before coming home to play the San Antonio Spurs and then making a return trip to Utah, for a game that will be played on a back-to-back.
Following that stretch, things lighten up significantly. The final games before the All-Star break are a home game against the Miami Heat, and then road games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, the second of which comes on a back-to-back.
After the All-Star Break
Following the All-Star break, Portland opens up with three straight home games. Those are games against the Pelicans, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics.
All three of those teams should present their unique challenges. However, those are all winnable games, especially coming off of the rest that will be much-needed during the All-Star break.
The final stretch of this quarter of the season is a road game against the Pacers, to start a short East Coast trip.
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