All In Their Hands Now

The Portland Trail Blazers need to win or they will be flying back to the 503 tomorrow morning. They are ahead of the Nets by six at halftime.

CJ McCollum leads the team with 18 with Lillard's performance on the verge of overshadowing him one last time this NBA season. Hassan Whiteside's 12 off the bench denotes his best play thus far in the bubble. On the opposition, Caris LaVert is doing his all to knock the Trail Blazers out of playoff contention with his outstanding play, showing that he is on-par with his all-star counterparts. 

LaVert and the Nets are putting in a few more reps before their round one playoff match-up against the Toronto Raptors. That series will begin Aug. 17.

Earlier today the Suns won and the Grizzlies won, so the Spurs' immediate future had been established - win or lose, they were going home. It's not like it looked like they came to play. In fact, once it was official that the Spurs were eliminated, most of their team sat. Compare this to the Sacramento Kings who played the Lakers and only looked more encouraged to be there with each passing quarter. Buddy Hield will always be viewed in high esteem by this onlooker. 

The Spurs made the playoffs for 21 years straight - now, the league's record for consecutive playoff appearances is held by the Houston Rockets, at eight, a phrase that just doesn't sound right. 

Right now, the Trail Blazers are looking to keep their own playoff appearance streak alive. They are tied with the Toronto Raptors for second in the league at seven. With a win tonight (and one more on Saturday) they will do exactly that. If not, some other western conference team will have a chance to play the Los Angeles Lakers and keep the story of these underdogs alive.