All that remained this week between the Portland Trail Blazers and their first appearance in the NBA playoffs since 2021 was one, final hurdle. It was true that their head coach had never coached in a playoff game before, and many of his players had never experienced a postseason atmosphere, either. Still, the coach expressed confidence that the team was prepared to face anything. “I think we went through everything that you can imagine, right?” Tiago Splitter said Sunday . Like every would-be