news-engine

The Western Conference is going to be as competitive as ever in 2026-27. Every game will matter for the Trail Blazers as they fight for a playoff spot. Some nights will hold more weight than others, though. Portland can maximize their postseason positioning by taking care of business against the teams closest to them in the standings. Here’s a list of three of those adversaries, when the Blazers face them, and what to watch for when they match up: 1. Utah Jazz Scheduled matchups: Oct. 31 (away), Dec. 3 (home), Apr. 2 (home), Apr. 4 (away) This isn’t a club the Blazers have had to worry about much in recent years, but that’s about to change. For the first time since the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era, the Jazz should be rolling out legitimately competitive lineups next season. They have a star core of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Keyonte George, and they’re deep with up-and-coming studs like Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier, and Brice Sensabaugh. Behind the clipboard for Utah is Will Hardy, one of the most creative offensive minds in basketball. If the Jazz want to make the playoffs, they’ll have to steal a bid from someone who made it last year. Portland will need to clamp down on Hardy’s attack or the Jazz could snatch their spot in the big dance. 2. Phoenix Suns Scheduled matchups: Oct. 21 (home), Nov. 4 (away), Mar. 21 (away) This past spring, Phoenix and Portland squared up in an electric play-in duel that set the stage for a new rivalry. Both teams will likely be in the same tier once again in 2026-27, squabbling to be part of the 6-10 seed range. The Blazers and Suns are similar in a lot of ways. They’re led by young coaches (Tiago Splitter and now Micah Nori for Portland, Jordan Ott for Phoenix) who have established scrappy defensive identities. Both have steady All-NBA-caliber stars (Deni Avdija and Devin Booker) at the helm, leading cohesive and impactful crews of role players. It’s crucial that Portland finds an edge over Phoenix, because they very well could meet in the postseason once again. 3. Golden State Warriors Scheduled matchups: Nov. 27 (home), Jan. 27 (home), Mar. 9 (away), Mar. 19 (away) The Warriors have really fallen from grace, but as long as Stephen Curry is on the floor, they're dangerous. They missed out on the playoffs for the second time in three years in 2025-26, but with Kristaps Porzingis and Jimmy Butler set to get healthy and Yaxel Lendeborg’s energy being injected into the lineup, they’ll be threats to bounce back. If Jrue Holiday and Toumani Camara are able to bother Steph, this shouldn’t be too difficult of an opponent for the Blazers. Still, they can’t take the Dubs lightly. How many wins Portland earns against Utah, Phoenix, and Golden State next season will have a serious effect on their postseason placement. These are must-watch matchups for fans this year.