When the Portland Trail Blazers fall into the NBA playoffs, they fall hard.
The Los Angeles Lakers rebounded Portland from the playoffs on Saturday with a 131-122 win that gave them a 4-1 first-round series win.
The Blazers can boast of having reached the postseason seven consecutive times. During that series, however, the Blazers were eliminated three times by sweeps and four times by series tally of 4-1 (see list below).
While these events occurred in a variety of rounds, including a sweep at the hands of Golden State in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, the deepest Portland has been in the playoffs since 2000. That year, the Blazers, who lost in seven games at the Lakers in the Western Finals certainly were legitimate contenders. Had it not been for a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in Los Angeles, the Blazers would have likely defeated Indiana in the NBA Finals and claimed the franchise’s first title since 1977.
Portland hasn’t really come close to contention since then. This includes 2019, when the Blazers reached the Western Finals because once there, they were blown away by the Warriors, who were minus their best player, Kevin Durant.
A legitimate contender should be able to push the eventual champion to at least six games with a couple of defeats in doubt. Portland did no such thing. Indeed, during this seven-year playoff series, the Blazers failed to give the team that eliminated them much of the fight.
The best possible record a team could have out of seven losing playoff series would be 21-28. This would result in the loss of all seven series with a tally of 4-3.
Portland’s record in the last seven losing playoff series dating back to 2014 is 4-28.
It should also be noted that the Blazers were mostly ousted from big teams. Three went on to win the championship. The 2020 Lakers are this year’s favorites. The 2019 Warriors would likely have defeated Toronto in the Finals had Klay Thompson and Durant remained healthy for the entire series.
What does all this mean? Well, in a nutshell, that Portland, while a strong and fun team led by a dynamic star in Damian Lillard, simply doesn’t have the talent to threaten the real contenders. In essence, this generation of blazers never had the horses to race with the NBA secretariats.
The list of superstars who have defeated the Blazers since 2014 includes Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry, Antonio Davis, Durant and now LeBron James with Davis by his side.
There was that 2015 first-round defeat to Memphis, devoid of superstars, which went down in five games. To be honest, that team of Blazers deserves a pass. LaMarcus Aldridge was slammed and they had already lost Wesley Matthews for the season.
The bottom line is that Portland either needs a second All-Star or will continue to be pushed out of the playoffs in a similar fashion when clashing with real title contenders.
Here’s a look at the results of the Blazers’ final playoff series over the past seven seasons:
2020: Lost 4-1, first round, Los Angeles Lakers.
2019: Lost 4-0, Western Conference finals, Golden State (possible champion).
2018: Lost 4-0, first round, New Orleans.
2017: Lost 4-0, first round, Golden State (possible champion).
2016: Lost 4-1, second round, Golden State.
2015: Lost 4-1, first round, Memphis.
2014: Lost 4-1, second round, San Antonio (possible champion).
– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
Subscribe to The Oregonian / OregonLive newsletter is podcast for breaking news and top news.
