The Portland Trail Blazers are heading into a November that should tell them plenty about who they are, and they may have to do it most of the way without starting point guard Ja Morant.
Portland opened October with four wins in its first five games, but the calendar is about to get a lot less forgiving. With the league settling in and teams now fully into the rhythm of the season, the Blazers’ early habits will be tested over a 15-game month that includes a heavy road load and several tricky back-to-backs.
The first challenge comes immediately. Portland begins a four-game road trip that started with a Halloween win over the Utah Jazz and continues Monday, Nov. 2, at the Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic and Denver make for a rough opening act. Two nights later, the Blazers are in Phoenix, and then they get the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA Cup game on Friday, Nov.
- Portland has already beaten both the Suns and Lakers this season, but doing it again in a short window is no simple thing.
That stretch closes at home with San Antonio on Saturday, Nov. 7, followed by Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Spurs game comes on the second night of a back-to-back, which makes it a difficult ask even with both teams working without rest. The Thunder matchup looks more manageable, though Portland should still have a real shot there because this isn’t the same Oklahoma City group that was dealing with injuries last season.
That first five-game run is projected to end at 2-3, with wins over Phoenix and Oklahoma City.
The next five bring another meeting with the Thunder, this time on Wednesday, Nov. 11, before the Blazers head out for a six-game road trip that includes Sacramento, Minnesota twice, and Milwaukee. Portland’s second game against Oklahoma City comes on the back end of a back-to-back, and after already being projected to take the first one, the Thunder are expected to bounce back and win this rematch.
From there, the Blazers move into an NBA Cup game at Sacramento on Friday, Nov. 13, and that one is one they should be able to grab. The Minnesota back-to-back on Nov. 16 and 17 is a tougher assignment, but Portland should be able to take at least one of those games with Anthony Edwards out for the foreseeable future. The trip ends at Milwaukee on Thursday, Nov. 19, and that one is also projected as a win.
That would leave Portland at 3-2 over that five-game stretch, with victories against Sacramento, Minnesota and Milwaukee.
The month’s final run is where the travel really starts to bite. The Blazers go to New York on Saturday, Nov. 21, and Philadelphia on Monday, Nov. 23, and both games are expected to test the team’s depth after such a long road swing. Those are the two losses projected on that trip.
Then Portland comes home for Thanksgiving and a pair of NBA Cup games, first against San Antonio on Wednesday, Nov. 25, and then against Golden State on Friday, Nov. 27.
The Spurs game offers a chance at revenge after the earlier meeting in the month, and the idea of winning both Cup games isn’t out of reach. The month ends Sunday, Nov. 29, against New Orleans, a game that should also land in the win column.
That final five-game stretch is projected at 3-2, with wins over San Antonio, Golden State and New Orleans.
Put it all together, and the Blazers’ November forecast comes out to a month that should give them their first real dose of adversity. The Morant injury and the long road trip in the middle of the schedule will force Portland to prove it can keep stacking wins through the grind. If the Blazers can stay near .500 while doing it, they should remain in good shape with the rest of the Western Conference’s top teams.
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Cleaning The Glass numbers point to a clash of strengths that could shape the tone of the series right away, with Portland trying to keep Denver from turning missed shots into easy extra points. The historical backdrop only adds to the intrigue, since these teams know each other well and both enter this stretch with current-season form that makes every possession feel a little more important than usual. [Read more 🡒]