NBA scores 2017: The Blazers’ final playoff push has a real chance of success

Portland is giving it one more chance before the season runs out on them, and they might really do it.

Mar 16, 2017, 1:00 PM UTC

NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers are only two games back of the No. 8 seed.

They remember when they were left for dead, and when they had the league’s worst defense, and when they were basically a laughingstock. And, well, all those things were true. But a trade at the deadline, and a few weeks remaining in the season has them close enough to the playoffs that you can’t count them out, and that’s all Portland can ask for at this point.

On Wednesday, playing in San Antonio, the Blazers beat the Spurs. It was the type of win that reminded any onlookers that yes, Portland is serious about making the playoffs. According to FiveThirtyEight, there’s still a 33 percent chance they climb back into the No. 8 seed. Sure, that would only set up a matchup against Golden State, which would probably end poorly. But for the Blazers, given where they were a month ago, it’s a possible execution they would accept.

The deadline trade for Jusuf Nurkic has re-energized the Blazers. Last year, you may remember, we saw Portland vault all the way up to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and advance to the second round thanks to an injured Clippers roster. Due to defensive issues and disappointing role players, Portland hasn’t shown any improvement over last year until very recently. Much of that can be attributed to Nurkic.

With Portland, Nurkic is averaging nearly 14 points and 10 rebounds, while putting up 3.6 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. The Blazers are 7-4 since the All-Star break, scoring nearly 111 points per 100 possessions (No. 5 in the league) while improving their league-worst defense to No. 21 overall. You know, that’s still not good, but it’s sure as hell better than where Portland was before.

Nurkic alone isn’t turning Portland into a playoff team, but he’s been the key catalyst. Led by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, we all thought the Blazers were ready to repeat in the playoffs this season based off what we had seen. In reality, last year was an extreme overperformance from what was expected from the team, and they did it anyway.

But Portland brought the whole team back, and the salaries committed will keep much of this team together for the next few years. The Blazers want to improve next year, but a run into the playoffs this season would be a good morale boost, as well as a solid reminder for what’s expected. If Terry Stotts can lift them there in the final month, that will be miraculous, indeed.

Just a head’s up: The Mavericks haven’t given up, either.

The team that’s one game back of Portland — and three out of the No. 8 seed — beat the red-hot Washington Wizards on Wednesday. That wasn’t supposed to happen, especially since the Wizards entered the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead. But Dallas outscored Washington by 12 points in the final frame, lifted in part by a basically unknown bench player from Argentina, Nicolas Brussino, who went off for 11 points, nine rebounds, two steals in 23 points. Those are all career highs.

Still, with a tricky schedule and barely any home games upcoming, Dallas is very much a long shot at the playoffs.

Meet the Kings’ new secret weapon

His name is Skal Labissiere, and he dropped 21 points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.

In the old draft rules, where high school players could commit right away, it’s very possible that Labissiere would have been a top-five pick. Instead, his college season with Kentucky exposed him. People realized this lanky 6’11 kid wasn’t really the scorer he had been made out to be, and that he had other problems. Sacramento snagged him at the end of the first round — though people did admit he had drifted too far down in the draft, even at the time — and now he’s hanging out with the Kings. Finally, with DeMarcus Cousins traded and the Kings in a strange free-for-all that still has them winning an occasional game, Labissiere has a chance to play.

He’s a lanky forward who potentially has a skilled guard’s game, and if Labissiere pans out at all for the Kings, they have themselves a steal. Sacramento may not have done anything else right in the past decade, but this is a solid low-risk, high-reward pick that maybe will happen to pan out for them.