Who Are the Blazers Going to Play in the Playoffs?

• AP
• Maybe the Mavericks. Or maybe not.

With their ugly victory over the Memphis Grizzlies last night, the Portland Trail Blazers clinch the Western Conference sixth seed for the postseason. The team travels south to Oakland to play the Golden State Warriors tonight, but regardless of that game’s outcome, Portland is number six.

That’s super, but who will they play? Um, good question. It’s down to three teams—the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder—but it’s a little lot confusing. Let’s figure it out.

The Blazers will play the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the playoffs if this happens tonight:
• The Mavericks and the Lakers win. It doesn’t matter what the Thunder do.
• The Mavericks and the Thunder lose. It doesn’t matter what the Lakers do.

The Blazers will play the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the playoffs if this happens tonight:
• The Mavericks win, but the Lakers lose. It doesn’t matter what the Thunder do.

The Blazers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the playoffs if this happens tonight:
• The Mavericks lose and the Thunder win. It doesn’t matter what the Lakers do.

I’m pretty sure that’s right. There is also the tanking factor, where the New Orleans Hornets (the Mavs’ opponent) might not play their starters. Or the fact that the Lakers might have trouble toppling the Kings tonight, especially since the world champs will be on the road, are injured, are on the second night of a back-to-back, and Sacramento very well might be playing their final game in that city. So much can happen tonight.

But if you are betting Blowtownie and want a ranking based on my random guesses at 6:30am, it’ll probably be the Mavs. Then the Lakers. Mayyyyybe the Thunder.