“Blazers need great luck to avoid elimination in NBA Cup”

The Portland Trail Blazers still have two games left in the group stage of the 2024 NBA Cup, but could be eliminated as early as Friday. If the Trail Blazers lose their group stage game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday and the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in a group stage game on Friday, the Trail Blazers will officially be eliminated from Cup competition.

The positive for the Trail Blazers is that both beating the Kings and losing the Lakers are not far-fetched scenarios. The Kings have had an inconsistent season, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 9-10. The Trail Blazers are just half a game behind at 7-12 on the season. The Kings have won just one of their last five games and are nowhere near their prime this season.

The Trail Blazers have also won just one of their last five games, and the Kings defeated them 111-98 earlier this season. That Kings win actually came early in the season in October. The Trail Blazers may not be significantly better than they were in October, but they have shown a little more fight in recent weeks.

Even if the Trail Blazers don’t win, they won’t be officially eliminated unless the Lakers defeat the Thunder. The Lakers have lost three of their last four games and will face the best Thunder team in the Western Conference. The Thunder are 14-4 and have won each of their last three games. They have a chance to beat the Lakers.

If the Trail Blazers remain alive after Friday’s NBA Cup games, their chances of advancing to the knockout rounds will depend in part on their performance in the final group stage game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

The Trail Blazers are currently 1-1 in the NBA Cup this year heading into Friday’s game. They defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game of the NBA Cup on November 12, but lost to the Houston Rockets ten days later.

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