It is officially called West Group C. But, unofficially, it’s been dubbed the “Group of Death.”
And with one game remaining in the qualifying round of the NBA Cup, the Portland Trail Blazers have a chance to do what once seemed unimaginable:
Survive the Group of Death.
The Blazers host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at the Moda Center with a berth to the NBA Cup quarterfinals at stake, bringing oversized importance to a random November game in Portland.
The teams are competing in that vaunted West Group C, alongside the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. It’s one of six, five-team groups across the league taking part in a round-robin format to decide the eight-team quarterfinal round, which will feature six group play winners and two wild card entrants.
Heading into their final round-robin matchup, the Blazers sit in first place in West Group C, tied with Denver at 2-1, one-half game ahead of the third-place Spurs (1-1). The Rockets (1-2) and Warriors (1-2) are tied for last.
The Blazers own the tiebreaker over Denver because they beat the Nuggets 109-107 on Halloween in Portland. So, if the Blazers can slip past San Antonio on Wednesday, it would clinch the automatic qualifier out of West Group C and advance to the knockout round of the third-annual in-season tournament.
The Spurs, on the other hand, need a win over the Blazers and a win over the Nuggets on Friday night to advance.
“We know it’s an important game for the Cup and for the standings, as well,” Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter told reporters in Milwaukee on Monday night. “I think we’re going (into the game) with a good, positive energy, with confidence ... and with a big chance to win the game. So I’m happy with where we are.”
The Blazers (8-10) have been battling a mind-boggling number of injuries — they have routinely played without six and even seven sidelined players in recent games — but the injury Gods have finally made a peace offering.
The Spurs (11-5) are expected to be without multiple key players when they visit Portland, including Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper. The trio of young stars has not played together since Nov. 2, having missed a combined 17 games.
San Antonio has fought through the injuries to win three of its last four games, but it is, at the very least, vulnerable heading into Portland.
The NBA Cup quarterfinals will take place Dec. 9 and 10 at different NBA venues, with host sites determined by teams’ records in group play.
The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to a neutral-site semifinal round held in Las Vegas on Dec. 13, which will be followed by a championship game on Dec. 16.