The San Antonio Spurs broke out this year as a contender for the NBA title, earning a second seed in the Western Conference behind Victor Wembanyama.
Portland finished eighth in the regular season in the West, then won on the road against the Phoenix Suns in the play-in game to claim the seventh seed.
San Antonio comes in as a heavy favorite in both Sunday's Game 1 and in the series, which is expected to be a quick one.
Game 1: Trail Blazers at Spurs, Sunday, April 19, 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT, NBC
Game 2: Trail Blazers at Spurs, Tuesday, April 21, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, NBC
Game 3: Spurs at Trail Blazers, Friday, April 24, 8:30 p.m. MT/9:30 p.m. CT, Prime
Game 4: Spurs at Trail Blazers, Sunday, April 26, 11:30 a.m./12:30 p.m. CT, ESPN
Game 5: Trail Blazers at Spurs, Tuesday, April 28 (if necessary)
Game 6: Spurs at Trail Blazers, Thursday, April 30 (if necessary)
Game 7: Trail Blazers at Spurs, Saturday, May 2 (if necessary)
More: How to buy Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs 2026 NBA playoff tickets
The Spurs finished the regular season 62-20, the second seed in the Western Conference.
Damian Lillard is out for the rest of the year with a torn Achilles. Jerami Grant is questionable for the series with a right calf strain.
The Portland Trail Blazers finished the regular season 42-40.
Game 1: Spurs -10 1/2. Over/under 221 1/2. Moneyline San Antonio -550 Portland Trail Blazers +400.
Jeremy Cluff writes: "The Trail Blazers showed a lot of grit in their win over the Suns in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but the Spurs are a lot better than the Suns. Victor Wembanyama will be too much for Portland."
Brad Botkin and Sam Quinn both pick San Antonio to defeat Portland in the first-round NBA playoffs series.
Jeff Zillgitt writes: "The Spurs have too much offense and too much defense – ranked No. 3 in both categories – and too much Wembanyama."
Eric Rosales writes: "San Antonio has just enough veterans to help steer the ship should they hit rough waters, but make no mistake: this is the first rodeo for Wembanyama and emerging star Stephon Castle. They should be fine, but they’ll be adjusting to playoff hoops on the fly. Despite winning 62 games, I think it’s a little early to just have them run through Portland, who competed with them well during the regular season, holding them below their season scoring average in every game. I like Portland to steal one of the first two on the road, and ultimately turn this into a best-of-3 series before fizzling out — but not before you get paid!"
Jared Weiss writes: "This is a Spurs sweep. Wembanyama’s defense counters Portland’s rim attack effectively, and the Spurs have the depth of perimeter defenders to stifle the Blazers offense. It will be exciting to watch Wembanyama try to score over Clingan and Robert Williams, two centers who could actually affect his drives and release points. Holiday and Camara will make it hard for the Spurs’ point guards to run the offense smoothly. But the Spurs have too much firepower and depth for the Blazers. When they get out and run, it’ll be lights out."