5 Games to Circle This Portland Trail Blazers Season

The Portland Trail Blazers’ schedule dropped on Thursday, likely the last big step in one of the most action-packed Blazers offseasons in recent memory.

As writers and fans, all we can really do now is look ahead to the future and wait for the preseason cycle to kick off in earnest in late September. So, I figured I’d lean into the former option and highlight five of the most intriguing games from the newly unveiled regular-season slate.

The criteria used to pick these five matchups was loose, considering factors like opposing play styles, possible playoff implications, national TV broadcasts, player storylines, how close a matchup looks on paper, etc. Obligatory mention that it’s August and the circumstances around these games could and likely will change over an 82-game season.

Primarily, I picked games that stood out on the calendar — for whatever reason — and looked like they could be entertaining nights of basketball. That last reason is why I didn’t select games against the league’s heavyweight opponents without other compelling factors adding to the intrigue; I wanted to avoid games that had a higher chance of ending in lopsided scores. That’s also why this list could present solid options if you’re looking to buy some Blazers tickets this season, but struggling to pick the games you want to see.

Now let’s take a look at the five games to circle on the calendar this season!

Wednesday, Oct. 22 vs. T-Wolves, 7 p.m. @ Home

It feels like low-hanging fruit to select the season opener, but I’m so curious about what this night will bring two months from now, especially considering how poorly the Blazers opened last season. (If you blacked it out from your memory, here’s a link.) This matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves is a tough opening draw against a Western Conference contender. The Blazers will be at home. Fans will enter the building with renewed optimism and an endorphin rush fueled by a busy offseason. In that environment, how will the Blazers set the tone for the season? Will they clock in for a competitive night, or will they lay a dud against Anthony Edwards and company?

The last time Minnesota visited Portland, the Blazers stole their lunch money in surprising back-to-back wins last November. Maybe the Timberwolves enter this game with a long memory and a chip on their shoulder. And maybe the Blazers also enter with some swagger, knowing they’ve handled this team before. It could make for some quality TV on night one.

Friday, Oct. 31 vs. Nuggets, 7 p.m. @ Home

In terms of window dressing, this early-season matchup against the Denver Nuggets has a lot. The game takes place at the Moda Center, it’s a Friday night, it’s Halloween, and it’s Portland’s first group-stage game of the sacred NBA Cup! Feelings can vary on the significance of the in-season tournament but I happen to be one of the event’s biggest proponents — and I’m only half-joking when I say that. It’s fun to give non-contending teams like the Blazers a chance to play for stakes, and I enjoyed the Blazers’ rose-and-thorn decorated court on Cup days last season.

The Nuggets should be one of the West’s top teams this season. The beginning part of the Blazers’ schedule is loaded with opponents of a similar quality. Whether the Blazers come into this game red-hot and rolling or badly needing a win, the home atmosphere of this unique game could help push them across the finish line.

Plus, this game will feature the first matchup between Blazers rookie Yang Hansen and his basketball idol Nikola Jokic. Yang humbly said he’d ask for a picture and an autograph from Jokic when they first meet. Jokic gave a classy response, saying he’d oblige only if Yang didn’t outplay him on the court. I look forward to seeing how their first meeting plays out.

Tuesday, Dec. 23 vs. Magic, 7 p.m. @ Home

Defense should rule the day when the Blazers host the Orlando Magic at the Moda Center two days before Christmas. Orlando fielded the No. 2 defense in the league last season, while the Blazers sparked their turnaround by fielding the No. 3 defense for the final 41 games. On the other end, the picture is less sparkly. Orlando ranked third-worst in scoring last season and Portland ninth-worst. They both ranked in the bottom-five in 3-point percentage. This matchup is what happens when rock meets rock in rock-paper-scissors: It’s gritty, rugged and physical.

In this atmosphere last season, Portland had Orlando’s number. The Blazers blew out the Magic 101-79 on the road on Jan. 23. Then a week later, they did it again at home in a 119-90 win that got real chippy. Toumani Camara also put Paolo Banchero in the box, proving to be a worthy match for the 6-foot-10 star. The Blazers caught the Magic in the midst of a slump last season and took advantage. Orlando will enter this season with higher aspirations following the acquisition of Desmond Bane. We’ll see if the Blazers can continue to beat them at their own game.

Monday, Dec. 29 vs. Mavs, 8 p.m. @ Home

Out of Portland’s eight “nationally televised” games this season, including streaming options, this Monday home game against the Dallas Mavericks on NBC is probably the one I’m anticipating the most. It hits the sweet spot of coming against what should be a quality opponent, but not an overpowered one, and the game is actually on broadcast TV, not some streaming service.

After having just one national TV game in each of the past two seasons, the uptick to eight is a welcomed change this year. Players seem to want to show out more on the national stage, and I enjoy when the national spotlight gives some time to the Portland skyline and Blazers fans. I also enjoy hearing national broadcasters’ impressions of the team, especially one as young and little-seen as this Blazers squad.

Depending on how health shakes out, Dallas could very well be in Portland’s tier this season, jockeying for position in the play-in or the back-half of the Western Conference playoff picture. This matchup should be a good litmus test for the Blazers (bonus points for it marking Cooper Flagg’s first visit to Rip City).

Fri.-Sat., Feb. 6-7 vs. Grizzlies, 7 p.m. @ Home

Keeping that last thought about postseason implications in mind, the Memphis Grizzlies should be another team the Blazers have in their crosshairs this season. If the Blazers are serious about jumping into the playoffs this season, they’ll have to supplant some teams in front of them. Among the choices, the Grizzlies are a prime candidate for Portland to leapfrog (as many Blazer’s Edge readers highlighted in this community discussion on the topic).

Although the Grizzlies still have high-end talent in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., they’ll have to fill the void left by Desmond Bane. They’ve also lacked stability since they emerged as the NBA’s up-and-coming young team in 2021-22, which now feels like ages ago.

This home-and-home back-to-back for Portland in early February presents an opportunity for the Blazers to either close in on the Grizzlies or create space from them in the Western Conference standings. (Even though it’s two games, we’re making an exception to include it as one entity on this prestigious list.) Depending on how close play-in/playoff positioning is in April, how this back-to-back shakes out could hold some significance at season’s end.

This back-to-back also gets bonus points for featuring the old-school center matchup of Donovan Clingan versus Zach Edey, who have converging histories. The 7-footers competed in the 2024 NCAA title game and both went in the lottery to their respective teams that spring. Clingan got the “better” of those two outings, winning the title with UConn and going at No. 7 in the draft, two spots ahead of Edey. However, Edey made the All-Rookie First Team last year, while Clingan made All-Rookie Second Team.

– Schedule lobbying? As Blazer’s Edge Managing Editor Dave Deckard pointed out in his schedule breakdown, the Blazers don’t have a road trip longer than five games this season. They have three trips of that duration — taking place from Nov. 8-16, Feb. 26-March 6, and March 15-22. It’s rare for the Blazers not to have a seven-game road trip somewhere in the mix. After seeing that more positive aspect of the schedule, I thought back to a situation from March. The Blazers came back from a seven-game road trip to play the Detroit Pistons at home on March 9, but then they immediately had to fly to Golden State for one more road game on March 10. Billups wasn’t happy about the herky-jerky nature of the stretch, and he criticized the scheduling in his postgame presser following the Detroit game, a 112-111 loss.

“This is like a road game,” Billups said. “You come off a seven-game trip, two weeks, and you turn around and gotta play tomorrow on the road. We should’ve just played the Pistons at [Oakland Arena] and then played the Warriors at [the Chase Center in San Francisco]. … It’s just a terrible scheduling thing, but it is what it is.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if the more favorable road slate this season was a conscious effort by the NBA to acknowledge Billups’ critique and throw the Blazers a bone. Each of Portland’s three five-game road trips this season are followed by at least two home games.

– No Rivals? As I scanned the Blazers’ regular-season schedule looking for intriguing matchups, I realized this Portland team doesn’t have any true rivals yet. Yes, of course, there’s always the Los Angeles Lakers, but that’s carried on more by fans right now than both teams’ current rosters. I’m talking about opponents who the Blazers have built up bad blood with — matchups where you can tell the players don’t like each other and the games are dogfights. Those types of rivalries take time and oftentimes a shared postseason history to build, so it makes sense that this younger iteration of the Blazers hasn’t established any prime-time foes yet. Maybe we’ll start to see some of those rivalries take shape this season.