Blazers lock in play-in, can still move up

The Trail Blazers are in. At least the play-in.

Portland (38-38) secured its spot and still sits within striking distance of climbing, currently just 1 1/2 games behind the Clippers for eight place in in the Western Conference race.

So this isn’t settled. A strong finish could still push the Blazers to the eighth spot. For the record, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2021.

They’ve done the hard part. Now comes the push.

The Blazers qualified courtesy of Sunday’s 123-88 home hammer job of the Wizards on Sunday. Toumani Camara scored 23, Scoot Henderson had 21 and Deni Avdija 20.