NBA Playoffs: First-Round Matchup Projections
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
The Portland Trail Blazers (49-33) finished just one single game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans (48-34) in the standings, and the Pelicans barely edged out the Blazers 54.9 to 54.2 in nERD to rank them 10th and 11th, respectively, in our year-end power rankings. Either way you slice it, these two teams are statistically very similar, and our projection for the series bears that out.
| Outcome | (3) Portland Trail Blazers | (6) New Orleans Pelicans |
|---|---|---|
| Win in 4 | 5.30% | 5.89% |
| Win in 5 | 14.13% | 9.99% |
| Win in 6 | 13.83% | 18.79% |
| Win in 7 | 19.53% | 12.54% |
| Win series | 52.79% | 47.21% |
