{"id":190285,"date":"2026-04-18T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=190285"},"modified":"2026-04-18T00:03:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T04:03:05","slug":"gauging-the-trail-blazers-chances-to-defeat-the-mighty-spurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/18\/gauging-the-trail-blazers-chances-to-defeat-the-mighty-spurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Gauging The Trail Blazers&#8217; Chances To Defeat The Mighty Spurs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Portland Trail Blazers have been an impressive bunch, earning their first playoff berth since 2021. While the Blazers&#8217; chances of going beyond the first round are bleak, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/avdijde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deni Avdija<\/a>&#8216;s star power could propel them in the postseason.<\/p>\n<h2>Gauging The Trail Blazers&#8217; Chances To Defeat The Mighty Spurs<\/h2>\n<p>The Portland Trail Blazers were in limbo for a long time. Despite <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>&#8216;s excellence, they did not make the playoffs in 2022 or 2023. After trading Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, Portland rebuilt the team based on smart deals.<\/p>\n<p>Players like Avdija and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/camarto01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toumani Camara<\/a> quickly became cornerstones. The Blazers also did well in the NBA Draft by choosing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clingdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Clingan<\/a> to be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/06\/clingan-has-proven-himself-as-the-trail-blazers-best-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">their franchise center<\/a>. Last summer, they acquired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a> and reunited with Lillard. Now, they are reaping the benefits with a return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>Avdija&#8217;s Star Power Is Significant For Portland<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 800px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBn7wHzEjq\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3072px; aspect-ratio: 3072\/2048;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Before the season started, some people thought the Blazers would stay competitive amid a transition period. They did much more than that by ending their <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/15\/the-blazers-postseason-return-ending-the-five-year-drought\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">five-year postseason drought<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lillard&#8217;s presence likely played a role, but he would be the first person to credit his teammates. Avdija, in particular, is the standout player for Portland. From being a rotational wing for the Washington Wizards, Avdija&#8217;s star power rose for the Blazers as he became an offensive powerhouse.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"da\" dir=\"ltr\">DENI DELIVERED. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/B4pNyTF9bS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/B4pNyTF9bS<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CK7HmTTFz3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/CK7HmTTFz3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/2044287616959348816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This season, he became a first-time All-Star by averaging 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. His willingness to play a bigger role was key towards Portland&#8217;s postseason hopes. That was apparent in the Play-In Tournament, when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-m_m2rgxsfY\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scored 41 points and dished out 12 assists<\/a> on Tuesday against the Suns.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the Blazers will face the Spurs in the first round, and they&#8217;re considered heavy underdogs against a 62-win team.<\/p>\n<h3>Being The Underdog Boosts The Blazers&#8217; Chances<\/h3>\n<p>Many expect the Spurs to dominate the Blazers &#8212; a valid conclusion because <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> and his supporting cast are phenomenal. Plus, the Spurs are a tough matchup to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>Tiago Splitter&#8217;s coaching will be under a microscope because his team struggles against a good defense. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/28\/solving-the-significant-problems-with-the-trail-blazers-offense\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Blazers&#8217; offensive issues<\/a> have been well documented, but they&#8217;ve also been solid as of late. With a starting core of Avdija, Holiday, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hendesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scoot Henderson<\/a>, Portland has a group that can manipulate opponents.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Scoot Henderson must be soaking in whatever defensive knowledge he can get from Jrue because he\u2019s turning into a legitimate menace as an on-ball defender  <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TeDWwaloKR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/TeDWwaloKR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pointmadebball\/status\/2043518820749545506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Off the bench, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grantje01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jerami Grant<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sharpsh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shaedon Sharpe<\/a> are phenomenal scorers who can take over the game. This is the healthiest the Blazers have been this season. Sharpe, in particular, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/11\/what-shaedon-sharpes-return-means-for-the-blazers-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">could be a game-changer<\/a> with his ability to average 20.8 points a night.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from the starters and the two super subs, the Blazers still have names like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/williro04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robert Williams III<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thybuma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matisse Thybulle<\/a>. They have an underrated roster that could pull off upsets on good days.<\/p>\n<h3>Splitter&#8217;s Schemes Are Key<\/h3>\n<p>The squad has multiple X-factors, but Splitter is a bit of a mystery. He coached 81 regular season games and a play-in contest. Now, he&#8217;s facing the same franchise he won a championship with in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian coach stepped up after Chuancey Billups was arrested. He was terrific for the most part, strengthening the Blazers&#8217; defense. Although <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/13\/tiago-splitter-wants-to-fix-the-trail-blazers-turnover-issues\/\" target=\"_self\">the offense could still use some work<\/a>, the potential for improvement is there.<\/p>\n<p>Splitter has deployed a zone defense several times this season. Considering it&#8217;s a point of weakness for San Antonio, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NekiasNBA\/status\/2044988495039442981?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">expect that to be a big part of Splitter&#8217;s scheme<\/a>. Stretching Wembanyama away from the paint will also be crucial, as the Blazers&#8217; primary point of attack is driving.<\/p>\n<p>It is an interesting dynamic between Portland and San Antonio. The Spurs are the favorites, but don&#8217;t be shocked when the Blazers steal a game or two. This is just the beginning of their bright future.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a9 Scott Wachter-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Portland Trail Blazers have been an impressive bunch, earning their first playoff berth since 2021. While the Blazers&#8217; chances of going beyond the first round are bleak, Deni Avdija&#8216;s star power could propel them in the postseason. Gauging The Trail Blazers&#8217; Chances To Defeat The Mighty Spurs The Portland Trail Blazers were in limbo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5385,"featured_media":190411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,23],"tags":[187,2831,1628,239,596,4702,4600,4669],"class_list":["post-190285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-trailblazers","tag-damian-lillard","tag-deni-avdija","tag-jerami-grant","tag-jrue-holiday","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-scoot-henderson","tag-shaedon-sharpe","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190285"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190453,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190285\/revisions\/190453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}