Science 538 asks "Are the Blazers for Real?"

[Wizard Mentor]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/are-the-trail-blazers-for-real/

On Blazers Defense:

After years of playing some of the worst team defense in the league, the Blazers are seventh in defensive rating on the season, according to NBA.com. It hasn’t been entirely smooth — after a strong start to the season, the team ranked just 22nd in January and 12th in February — but Portland seems to have righted the ship during this latest stretch. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the team had a 102.9 defensive rating during that stretch, which would put Portland at the top of the league if that were its season-long figure.

Conclusion:

The Blazers have one of the harder schedules remaining in the Western Conference playoff race and will have to rely not only on Lillard and McCollum to continue to lift an otherwise leaden offense, but also young players like rookie Zach Collins and Pat Connaughton to continue contributing through a playoff push. It’s a lot to ask. But Portland’s last several playoff runs have involved juggling a similar number of balls in the air. And with what appears to be a firm foundation on defense for the first time in years, the backcourt only has to make up for the deficiencies of one side of the ball, not two. That may not be enough to give the Blazers much of a shot of getting past Houston or Golden State, but it’s progress just the same.

 

[Haakzilla]

#RipMotherFuckingCity

 

[Wizard Mentor]

#RipMotherFuckingCity

#RipMotherFuckingCityBitches

 

[-Ace-]

#RipCityOnTheyAss

 

[KingSpeed]

My brother said he was reading some site during the game that said Lakers had 94% chance of winning when they were up 10 late in the game. Dame defies the odds.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

We had a 100% chance of winning once the buzzer sounded.