Blazers lock West No. 7
Portland clinched the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, which locks the Trail Blazers into a first‑round matchup rather than leaving them in play‑in limbo. CBS Sports ran the bracket update showing Portland’s secured placement as the play‑in games finish setting the postseason field. (cbssports.com)
Portland is out of play-in limbo after beating Phoenix 114-110 on Tuesday night to claim the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed. (nba.com) That result sends the Trail Blazers straight into a first-round series against the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. (nba.com) The play-in format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams two chances to reach the playoffs, but the winner of the 7-versus-8 game locks the No. 7 seed immediately. Portland got that spot by winning the West play-in opener, while Phoenix dropped into Friday’s game for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That changes the next four days for Portland. Instead of waiting for a second elimination game on Friday, the Trail Blazers get a set opponent, a set start date, and a full week built around San Antonio’s matchup. (cbssports.com) The bracket is now partly fixed in the West: Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed and will face the eventual No. 8 seed, San Antonio is No. 2 against Portland, Denver is No. 3 against Minnesota, and the Los Angeles Lakers are No. 4 against Houston. (cbssports.com) Portland entered the postseason through the play-in because the regular season ended with the Trail Blazers at 41-40. The National Basketball Association schedule page listed Portland as the West’s No. 8 team in the play-in before Tuesday’s win over the Suns. (nba.com) San Antonio finished the regular season 62-19 and secured the West’s No. 2 seed before the play-in bracket was completed. The Spurs now open their series against a Portland team that had to survive a road game just to get into the field. (nba.com) Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut is part of the setup now, with CBS Sports listing Spurs-Trail Blazers as the 2-versus-7 series in the official bracket update after Portland advanced. (cbssports.com) For Portland, the immediate question is no longer whether it will make the playoffs. It is how quickly the Trail Blazers can turn a Tuesday play-in win into a Sunday opener against the West’s second seed. (nba.com)
