Portland can’t ever seem to catch a break. The first 20 games that the Blazers play is the hardest of any team in the league. Their opponents had a combined win percentage of 54.2%, which is 0.4% harder than the next closest. They also play in 14 back-to-backs and have one of only three schedules, along with the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, which has an eight-game stretch within 12 nights. While that occurred quite a bit last season due to the condensed schedule and turn-around time from the previous season, it is much more scarce this year. The Trail Blazers have a new head coach in Chauncey Billups and will be featured in 15 nationally televised games, which is probably less than what they deserved considering that Dame Lillard is a superstar. They belong to the Northwest division in the Western Conference, which includes the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves.