Portland Trail Blazers hope bubble run prepared them for playoff challenge versus Los Angeles Lakers

The Portland Trail Blazers achieved a great deal by reaching the NBA playoffs, which required pushing through nine do-or-die nail-biters in 15 days.

Their reward is the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a seven-game series with the Los Angeles Lakers, led by All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

As daunting as that might sound, the reality is that Portland knew what awaited it when the team entered the bubble in Florida. The Blazers sought this challenge. They chased after this challenge. There’s not a chance they will back away from the challenge.

“If we were going to come into it any other way, then we should have just came here and bowed out gracefully before we even got to this point,” Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard said. “But that’s not what we showed up for.”

Getting past the Lakers will not only be tough, it would be historic. Only five No. 8 seeds have defeated a No. 1 seed since 1984 when the league went to the 16-team playoff format.

For the Blazers to become the sixth team to accomplish the feat, they must play even better than they did during the seeding session when they went 6-2. The Lakers won’t be resting stars while playing out meaningless games, unlike most of Portland’s opponents since the restart.

One major benefit the Blazers have going for them is that while they have been grinding, the Lakers have mostly been cruising. The Lakers haven’t played a meaningful game since July 30, when they clinched the No. 1 seed by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I think the thing that we have on our side is that we’ve had to be on edge since we’ve been here,” Lillard said. “Every game that we’ve played has been down to the wire.”

Portland went to Orlando knowing it had to track down Memphis while fending off Phoenix, San Antonio and New Orleans. Doing so meant treating every game like a playoff game, Lillard said, and that means the Blazers don’t have to flip a switch Tuesday night. They are already prepared for the playoffs.

“We had to play at a high level both mentally and physically to get to where we are right now,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said.

Carrying the load has been the Blazers’ offense, led by Lillard. The defense has been borderline atrocious.

“They’ve played at an elite level during this stretch in the bubble, at least offensively,” James said.

Those final three words are telling. The Lakers must know they should be able to rip right through the Blazers’ defense. There is nobody on Portland’s roster remotely capable of slowing down James. Plus, with Zach Collins (ankle) out for at least Game 1, the Blazers lack anyone both large enough and athletic enough to chase after Davis.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, right, celebrates against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP) AP

Portland’s only real shot to win four games is to shoot the lights out on four nights. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the team has been working on how to limit the Blazers’ offense.

“They’ve got the hottest player in the league,” Vogel said. “You can start there.”

The player he speaks of is Lillard, who led the bubble seeding games with 37.5 points per game. The Lakers were very familiar with his abilities even before watching him shred defenses at the bubble. In the only meeting between the teams this season, Lillard scored 48 points in a win at Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

But even if the Blazers get hot with CJ McCollum, Gary Trent Jr. and Carmelo Anthony also contributing, they still must find a way to slow down James and Davis.

Drawing the first assignment on James could be his old buddy, Anthony. The two entered the NBA together in 2003 and have been friends ever since.

“It’s a chess game,” Anthony said about preparing for James. “That’s what this is. It’s more of a mental challenge, more so than a physical challenge.”

Challenges are something this team has yet to recoil from. But this latest one is the toughest yet.

“We’re coming into it with a healthy level of respect,” Lillard said. “But we’re not coming into it like we can’t get the job done.”

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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