They can win, they can lose, but either way, they won’t know who they’ll draw.
This is the reality for the Trail Blazers heading into the final two games of the regular season as they find themselves entrenched in the log-jammed Western Conference standings.
There are still six teams out West whose seedings are yet to be determined, meaning if Portland is seeking a particular matchup, winning is by no means the safest way to reach it.
But as far as Blazers coach Nate McMillan’s concern, the only strategy he’s employing as the postseason nears is to score more points than the opposition.
“You can’t worry about that. You don’t play to lose, you play the game to win,” he said. “You have to continue to try and win games, we have an opportunity to seal up that sixth spot. But that’s really for the media with all that jockeying and who you want to play and what’s a good matchup. We’ll know that Wednesday.”
In the meantime, they’ll worry about tonight, when the Grizzlies come to town having won eight of their past 10. And joining Portland for the first time since he strained his neck on a gruesome fall against Golden State last week, will be center Marcus Camby.
Camby said that he’s excited to be back and that his team is approaching the final two games as though “the playoffs start this week,” although his motivation stemmed less about securing a seed and more about finding a groove.
“The games aren’t important, but they are important as far as finding a rhythm,” Camby said. “I mean, we’re in (the playoffs). Everybody wanted to get out of the seventh spot to not play the Lakers, but if we want to get where we want to get to, we’re going to have to see that team.”
Memphis, meanwhile, has been playing some of its best basketball of the season despite being without Rudy Gay for the latter third of the year. But that hasn’t stopped other guys from amping up their own games, especially players such as Zach Randolph, who’s averaging 20.2 points and 12.2 rebounds a game.
A power forward playing huge despite the loss of a key player? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
“It’s similar to here,” Brandon Roy said. “When Rudy went down for them, other guys stepped up.”
Wallace talks to Feds
Portland forward Gerald Wallace has long made known his aspirations to join the FBI one day. To acknowledge the goal, an FBI agent came down to the Blazers’ practice facility Monday to present Wallace with a hat, sweatshirt and coin.
“It’s always been a dream of mine. I grew up wanting to be a part of law enforcement,” Wallace said. “The only thing really holding me back was basketball.”
The Blazers are thankful for the holdup.
Over the past 10 games, Wallace has averaged 20.2 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers while excelling on the defensive end.
The best stretch of his career?
“I don’t think so. It’s been a pretty good stretch, especially with some of the situations I’ve been in,” Wallace said. “I’m feel like I’m in a pretty good groove right now.”
One more spot
The Blazers still have one more spot available on their roster, and big men Robert Swift, Earl Barron and Dwayne Jones all went through a group workout Monday in hopes of landing the role.
The 7-foot-1 Swift played four years with Seattle/Oklahoma City, the 7-foot Barron entered the league in 2005 and played 19 games with the Bucks and Suns this year, and the 6-foot-9 Jones has played on various teams in limited roles over the past five years.
