Although NBA divisional winners are no longer guaranteed a playoff spot, teams still face their regional rivals four times each throughout the season. Roughly twenty percent of the 82-game season is determined by how well teams fare against these foes. For the Portland Trail Blazers, they’ll have a steep mountain to climb against a very talented and tough Northwest Division.
This division consists of the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland won the division last year, but the difference between them and the bottom-seeded Nuggets was only three games – the Nuggets were the only team of the four to miss the playoffs.