The Portland Trail Blazers’ NBA Cup path is set, and it comes with a little bit of everything: a star-studded opener, a road test they need to win, a playoff rematch at home and a finale against Stephen Curry.
Portland was placed in West Group C last month, and the schedule for those four games has now been released ahead of the league-wide schedule drop on Thursday. The group brings the Blazers face to face with Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Curry and more as they try to find some early NBA Cup momentum.
The run begins Nov. 6 in Los Angeles against the Lakers at 7:00 PM on Amazon Prime at Crypto.com Arena. It’s a heavyweight way to start, with Doncic leading a new-look Lakers team that will be without LeBron James for the first time since 2018.
Portland is adjusting too, and both absences and changes could end up working in the Blazers’ favor. Even without LeBron, the Lakers still figure to lean hard on Doncic and Austin Reeves in the backcourt, while Portland is rolling out a new backcourt of its own with Ja Morant and Damian Lillard.
It has the feel of a prime-time game for a reason.
A week later, the Blazers head to Sacramento on Nov. 13 for a 7:00 PM meeting with the Kings on Rip City Television Network at Golden 1 Center. This one matters in a different way.
In a group where every point can matter, Portland has to take care of business against what is viewed as the weakest opponent in the field. That means not just winning, but pushing the scoreboard if the chance is there.
Sacramento won’t make it easy, though, especially with rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. expected to lead the way. He’s only in his first year, but the source material makes clear he can score in bunches, and keeping him under control will be a major part of the job.
The home stretch of the group stage starts Nov. 25, when the Spurs come to Moda Center for a 7:00 PM tip on ESPN. This is the one Portland will almost certainly have circled.
San Antonio knocked the Blazers out in a five-game series in the first round of the playoffs back in April, and that alone gives the matchup some edge. The Spurs also arrive with their own motivation after losing in the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks.
Victor Wembanyama remains a major force, and the Spurs are coming off the kind of run that demands attention. They went to Las Vegas and won the Western Conference Final in last year’s NBA Cup before falling to the Knicks in the championship, and now Portland gets the chance to test itself against the group’s reigning West champion.
It also marks the Blazers’ first home game of the Cup run.
Portland wraps things up two nights later, Nov. 27, against the Warriors at 6:30 PM on Rip City Television Network back at Moda Center. Stephen Curry always brings a little extra drama to these games, and that doesn’t figure to change here.
The possibility of Damian Lillard facing Golden State in a Blazers uniform again adds another layer, and it could bring back some of the energy that defined the rivalry through much of the 2010s. The teams’ 2019 Western Conference Finals meeting still hangs over the matchup, but the Warriors look different now.
Even so, Curry is still the kind of player who can flip a game by himself. For Portland, it’s also a chance to see whether Lillard can turn back the clock and look like the player who spent 11 seasons in Portland from 2012-23.
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