Tomorrow the Portland Trail Blazers will face the San Antonio Spurs, a mid-week game in November that would be relatively meaningless save for one factor. If Portland wins, they will punch their ticket
to the 2025 NBA Cup Tournament as victors in Group C of the Western Conference Pool.
On the eve of the game, we’re asking this simple question of Blazers fans. How badly do you want to be in the tournament and how much do you want the NBA Cup itself?
You can share your thoughts in the comment section below. I’ll open the proceedings by acknowledging that the Cup is a modest accomplishment, at best. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks won the inaugural two tournaments. It did nothing to shape or alter their future, nor how we think of those franchises. It’s a made-up honor, designed for this specific purpose, to make mid-November games seem like they have more significance. In the big picture, it doesn’t really matter whether the Blazers get close to the Cup, take it outright, or just go on playing their regularly-scheduled games.
Still, I do want Portland to be in the tournament for a couple reasons. Playing for something is always more fun than playing for nothing in particular. You win points there, NBA. Also, the Blazers haven’t competed for anything but ping pong balls for a few years now. Even if they make up the goal themselves—wanting to win the Cup for no other reason than they want to win it—setting and achieving that goal could be helpful, maybe even educational. Banding together…selling out for each other…checking off milestones…you know the drill.
Both of those impulses could be summarized as: at least they’re winning something. But hey, you take what you can get in Portland in the 2020’s, so I’m all in!
How badly do you want the Blazers to beat the Spurs, participate in the tournament, and/or win it? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
