4. Portland Trail Blazers
Utah vs Portland: 2-1 (One game remaining)
While Portland’s 13-game win streak may have ended at the hands of the Rockets last week, the Trail Blazers have been one of the league’s most impressive teams of 2018. After another uninspiring start to the season, many thought that it was time for Portland to blow it up and hit the reset button, but they’ve certainly proved that wrong.
Portland currently sits in the West’s third spot, a full two games ahead of fourth place OKC. This means that the Jazz will most likely have to climb to the West’s sixth seed to play Portland in the opening round.
This is the first potential matchup of our list that I could see Utah winning. Portland’s recent hot streak may deter many Jazz fans from hoping for a first-round matchup with Damian Lillard and Co., though. Utah dropped its most recent matchup against Portland in a 100-81 defeat at home, however, they won the season’s first two games by a combined 28 points.
Portland’s one-two punch of Lillard and C.J. McCollum would pose a tough matchup for Utah’s stingy defense, however, I would expect Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell should be up to the task. While Portland also boasts star-power similar to other teams on this list, they don’t have the same kind of playoff experience as teams like Golden State and OKC.
The last game of the regular season pits these two teams against each other and could serve as a preview of what could be an entertaining first-round series.
This one is a toss-up for me, however, Lillard tips the scales slightly in Portland’s favor. Sorry, Jazz fans.
Prediction: Portland wins 4-3