The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-104 in what was mostly a battle of the benches. Portland improves to an astounding 54-28 and the Clippers fall to 57-25.

First off, this post is going to be mostly about the upcoming playoffs and my general thoughts. I am going to do some analysis on tonight’s game; however, this game had no meaning for either team. The Clippers had already secured the third seed and with Oklahoma City winning tonight against Detroit, LA had no chance of sneaking into the second seed.

Portland was in the same boat. Already securing their spot and with no chance in catching Houston, they had an excuse to play the young guys for most of the game.

I will say that some of the players were impressive for the minutes that they were given. Will Barton, for example, had a nice game and was the top scorer for Portland. He finished with 23 points on 7-for-20 shooting, 3-for-7 from three and had 10 rebounds. Barton played 35 minutes and displayed the usual street ball/wild abandon style of his. I will say that he has surprised me with how under control he has been playing. He still has a few possessions that make you go “why?”, but for the most part, Barton has improved. Tonight, he had a few impressive fast break buckets that involved some show-and-go action to an under the basket reverse lay-up. Barton is very fun to watch when his shots go in, but if he is having a bad game, it is ugly. I have determined that Barton is our Nick Young, except probably less annoying.

C.J. McCollum finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, 1-for-2 from three in 28 minutes of play. McCollum, after getting his rotation spot replaced by Dorell Wright, finally got some substantial playing time once again. All in all, he looked good. His shot looked straight and in rhythm and he looked to be playing with confidence, which is important.

Victor Claver continues to display that he should be getting some playing time somewhere. In 23 minutes of play, he finished with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, 1-for-3 from three, four assists and six rebounds. Claver continues to surprise me with his high-IQ basketball play. Claver is one of two Blazer players on the bench that can really affect a game without putting anything on the stat sheet (the other being Joel Freeland). Victor rarely makes a bone-headed play and always makes the right decisions. I know the rotation is already set, but it would be interesting to see if Portland could squeeze him in next season. He is underrated.

Portland out-rebounded LA 65-42. Granted, LA played without Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, JJ Redick and DeAndre Jordan only played five minutes or so, but 65 is a big number. Plus, Portland had 29 assists. Looking forward into the matchup against Houston, those are the numbers Portland will need to have in order to beat the Rockets. If Portland can rebound and pass the ball effectively, the Blazers have a good chance in the first round.

Speaking of the playoff matchup against Houston, Houston will be Portland’s next destination as the playoffs have finally arrived for the Blazers. My personal prediction for the series is that any team could come out on top as I think both teams are just that equally skilled. Houston probably has the best individual players on the field in James Harden and Dwight Howard, but you could argue that Portland as the better all-around team. Whatever the case, I do not see a scenario where this series does not go to six or seven games. Furthermore, with the added drama of the Patrick Beverley/Damian Lillard rivalry brewing and the fact the games in the regular season were intense; this series will be a good one, maybe one of the best in the first round.

One of the biggest factors Portland will face against Houston is obviously the three-point line. Portland has been good at defending the three-point line; however, Houston likes to jack them up. Just do not be in a situation where you are up by three with ten seconds left with Harden at the top of the key and Portland should be fine. After the Golden State shootout, I would think Blazer fans are all right trying to deal with the likes of Chandler Parsons, James Harden, Jeremy Lin, Omri Casspi, and Francisco Garcia.

Another factor will be trying to limit the amount of times Harden goes to the line. Harden makes his living from the FT line. I do not know how many times I have seen him go 1-for-9 from the field, but go 18-for-19 from the line. Now, there is only so much the Blazers can do as Harden is just skilled at getting himself to the line, but if Portland can do their part, it will make this series go a lot easier and a lot faster.

Overall, this looks to be an exciting matchup for both fanbases. In terms of the regular season for Portland, that turnaround is just fantastic. Portland had 21 more wins than last season, which sets a new franchise best. Like I have said before, analysts and fans alike were both saying that this team could maybe squeak out 38-43 wins and be fighting for the eighth seed, seventh at best. Well, I’ll take this record. Now, it is just a matter of taking the success into the postseason. Portland has had a few good seasons that have gone to waste in first round exits in the postseason. Anybody remember 2008-09?

There you have it. All 82 games in the form of blog posts! Next up, game one against the Rockets on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PST. Stay tuned!