It was quite the climb but they’ve done it. The Portland Trail Blazers have officially clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Blazers had good success seeding games, and got some luck as it coincided with the original eighth-seed, Memphis Grizzlies, continuously stumbling in the bubble. They then edged out the Grizzlies in the playoff play-in Sunday, 126-122, for the right to advance.

On paper, the “reward” for making the bottom postseason slot isn’t pleasing since it’s a date against the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

However, there’s plenty of reasons to believe that the Blazers are a different bunch than the other in-the-hunt teams, and that they have the tools to pull-off an upset.

Let’s get this out of the way: yes, the Blazers are only 26th on defense and lost their regular season series with the Lakers, 2-1.

If you’ve been watching the NBA long enough, you’d know that the playoffs are a whole new game – pair that with what happened over the last two weeks, you’d lean towards an upset too.

Let’s take a look at four reasons why you shouldn’t sleep on the Blazers.

Reason #1 – No one can stop Damian Lillard

People are running out of adjectives to describe Damian Lillard. He’s completely in the zone right now and it’s anyone’s guess who as to who can at least contain him.

Teams who are equipped to defend high-scoring guards weren’t exactly able to slow him down, so we can probably expect the Lakers to struggle mightily.

Dame is averaging 36.8 points and 9.6 assists per game in the bubble.

Here’s what the Laker defense has allowed:

7/31 vs. LAC – Paul George – 31 points, 11-for-17 shooting
8/2 vs. TOR – Kyle Lowry – 33 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists
8/4 vs. UTA – Donovan Mitchell – 33 points
8/6 vs. OKC – Chris Paul – 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (LAL lost, 105-86)
8/7 vs. HOU – James Harden – 39 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 11-for-19 shooting
8/9 vs. IND – TJ Warren – 39 points, 15-for-22 shooting
8/11 vs. DEN – Eight Nuggets scored in double figures, the bench shot 12-for-18 in the fourth quarter
8/13 vs. SAC – Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined for 55 points and 13 threes. Both played less than 27 minutes.

Reason #2 – The Lakers can’t match threes

Threes are the name of the game right now, and the Blazers and Lakers are on the opposite sides of the spectrum heading into the series. Portland is just too loaded to unleash trifectas.

The Blazers are swishing 15.3 threes per game in the bubble, which isn’t eye-popping unless you see the variety of dangerous and streaky shooters. Aside from Lillard and CJ McCollum, there’s Carmelo Anthony and Gary Trent Jr., who have both boasted multiple 20-plus point performances since the restart.

The Lakers are more about set plays, LeBron’s court vision, and giving the ball inside to Davis. It’s especially evident in the bubble as they have just gone 30.3% from downtown (9.9 made threes on 32.6 attempts per game), dead-last in that stretch.

Reason #3 – Momentum

Momentum is a key to any game, particularly in an intense, seven-game series where the stakes are high. The Blazers are ahead in that department yet again.

 “Rip City” tore through the competition in the seeding games and won six of eight outings. In there, they beat playoff contenders – Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks – and were able to build rhythm in their offense. They averaged 133.1 PPG in their bubble games.

Backing Lillard’s 36.8 PPG in the bubble are a handful of support scorers, as McCollum, Anthony, Trent Jr., and returning big man Jusuf Nurkic are all averaging over 16 PPG since the restart.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have gone just 3-5 and got consistently rattled by high-scoring performances from the opposition.

In addition, they’re also ranking way below a handful of important advanced stats. Along with being the worst three-point shooters in the bubble, they’re also at the bottom four in field goal shooting, offensive rating, net rating, and assist/turnover ratio.

Reason #4 – The diamond defense

With the low rankings, the Blazers are not scaring anyone defensively, but make no mistake about it: their diamond defense can be a big sleeper.

As seen in the video above, the simple trap will take the ball out of LeBron’s hands quickly whenever he’s at the PG position, which will then require other Lakers to make quick decisions. The double won’t be much of a risk down low as well as the help up top is likely coming from a guard, and the front court guys will be able to stay with Davis.

The tendency then is to move the ball, which will most likely end up outside since the Blazers would try to close out the passing lanes towards Davis.

And how are the Lakers doing from three as of late? That’s right… 30.3% clip and dead-last in the league.

To close this one out, I’ll say it again: be concerned Laker fans. Be very concerned.