Trail Blazers’ Recent Rise Starts in Portland, and It Started in January

By Tommy Boyd

If you are an NBA team that isn’t the Portland Trail Blazers, you should stay far, far away from the Moda Center right now.

Portland is 14–3 in the Rip City since January 17th, which is good enough for third-best in the league during that time span. Only the Houston Rockets (owners of the NBA’s best record) and the Philadelphia 76ers have higher winning percentages on their home court.

Existing within those 14 home wins for the Trail Blazers are a few meaningful and convincing victories, including some over the reigning conference champions in the Warriors (whom they beat twice) and the Cavaliers. The average margin of victory during those three wins was just over 10 points. The only teams to win in Portland during this time have been the Jazz, Rockets, and Celtics.

With the NBA playoffs approaching and the Western Conference playoff picture still far from clear, the importance of Portland’s home wins cannot be overstated. As of March 27th, the Blazers have climbed to claim third place behind the Rockets and defending-champion Warriors. Before January 17th, the Trail Blazers were just 11–10 in Portland and clinging onto seventh place.

Their sudden rise has been well-documented in NBA circles, but it is often attributed to their 13–2 record since the All-Star break. It isn’t until you take another step back and look at the improved home record that you realize Portland’s playoff push started earlier than that.

Should they hang onto their №3 seed, the Trail Blazers will earn home court advantage through at least the first round of the playoffs. If the current trend continues, you aren’t going to want to face them there.