National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers: Goodbye Football, the NBA is Back This Week

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Enjoy the last weekend of pure football – Trail Blazers begin training camp this week

Football is a nice distraction; a harmless affair. It gets us through the doldrums of the NBA news cycle: Late August – mid September. But football will slowly fade into the background as NBA preseason games and rosters take shape in October. Towards the end of October, the Trail Blazers will light up the Rose Garden Moda Center and football will again become just another late summer fling.

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Speaking of the opener – The Trail Blazers get a look at their opponent next Monday night when preseason begins. Portland will open the preseason and regular season against their division rival – the Utah Jazz. Though the regular season opener is just one game out of 82, it is extremely important.

Utah’s over/under for wins this season (47.5) is higher than any other Northwest division team. Despite not making the playoffs and no massive additions to the roster, the Jazz are now favored to win the division. It might be one game, but it will set the tone for the entire season. (Tickets still available here)

Enjoy your football this weekend, because after today, the NBA begins its takeover. Training camps start this week and preseason the next. The regular season opener between the Portland and Utah Jazz now sits exactly one month away.

As with the end of any summer fling – Get ready to conjure up ridiculous excuses and ignore various phone alerts. Football and you were never going to last. Your old love is on the horizon. The NBA is back.

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