Damian Lillard had 34 points on Tuesday, and his play has been one of the reasons the Trail Blazers have been such a surprise this season. (The Associated Press) By Jason Quick | jquick@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter on April 01, 2014 at 11:03 PM Quick: Trail Blazers fans need to take the time to smell the roses and drink the wine. It's been a season for the ages LOS ANGELES -- It’s hard to tell how well the Trail Blazers will do in the playoffs. Depends too much on who they play, who is healthy, and whether or not those long-bomb three-pointers are falling. But after Tuesday’s 124-112 win over the Lakers, two near certainties are on the horizon: Portland (49-27) is going to make the playoffs, and it is going to do it winning 50 or more games. Think about that for a second. A starting lineup with a second-year point guard from a small school. A shooting guard who went undrafted. A center who many think isn’t even the best in his family. A power forward who takes as much heat and criticism about his game as any other three-time All-Star. And a small forward who has yet to realize all of his potential. “It’s like everybody on our team has come from an underdog situation,’’ said Damian Lillard, the second-year point guard from Weber State. “And I think that’s why everybody responds best to those type of environments.’’ It wasn’t long ago -- a week to be exact -- that the Blazers once again found themselves as the underdog. They appeared to be crumbling. Unable to sustain the sensational early-season success. Now they have won four straight, and have crept within 1 1/2 games of Houston for homecourt advantage in the first round. Aside from the magical title run in 1977, this team could very well be the most unheralded, and unexpected, success story in franchise history. At season’s start, they were hoping for a winning record, perhaps doing just enough to get an eight seed. But here they are, needing four wins in their final six games -- a feasible goal -- to pull off the largest single-season turnaround in franchise history. Making the playoffs in the Western Conference is a remarkable accomplishment, one I hope fans recognize Friday at home against Phoenix when -- if everything falls into place -- this team could have its first chance at clinching one of the eight seeds. No, the Blazers haven’t had the smoothest ride. And it hasn’t been without some drama, some trying times. Especially in the past month. But those trying times, and all that doubt -- from within and outside the locker room -- might make all of this sweeter. Rock-bottom hit one week ago today. After five months of being wined-and-dined by the Blazers, the team burped at the table, right in your face, losing to a young and struggling Orlando team, three nights after losing by 30 in Charlotte. At the time, it was fair to ask whether this season-long courtship was worth it, fair to ask whether it was all coming to an abrupt end. In the life of a Trail Blazers’ fan, there have been more egregious late-season transgressions by this team. The collapse of the 2000-2001 team, from No. 1 seed in March to a No. 7 seed and a first-round sweep by the Lakers. The 13-game losing streak to end last season. Losing 19 of their final 20 in 2005-2006. But none of those provided the wake-up call that last week’s burp did. In fact, that trip last week, specifically the blowout in Charlotte and the no-show in Orlando, could stand to be the defining moments of this remarkable season. Turns out, in the locker room after the Orlando loss, coach Terry Stotts laid it down plain and simple: The playoffs, he said, start now. “You know, when everything hit the fan, I think it gave us something to respond to,’’ Damain Lillard said. “The whole season had gone so well, it was like: this is as rough as it has been. It gave us something to respond to.’’ Since that declaration by Stotts in Orlando, the Blazers are 4-0. Stotts has long been irritated at the nit-picking by those outside this team, and what he perceives as a perpetual negative spin. An example: pointing out the blowout loss in Charlotte and disappointing defeat in Orlando without mention of a competitive last-second loss in Miami that fell between those games. “You are not going to have 82 games of wine and roses,’’ Stotts said Tuesday. “I think finding your way through adversity in this league is important, provided that you navigate successfully through it. Getting through them, and how you get through them, can go a long way.’’ Those swells of adversity have crested with some big moments, none bigger than the last three weeks. Lillard instigating a team meeting in San Antonio. Aldridge rejoining the lineup in Atlanta, seemingly signalling it was time to flip the proverbial switch. “It was good for us to have it happen then, and I think it was big-time for our team to find ourselves,’’ Lillard said. “Now, it’s a matter if we can sustain that. Can we just keep being that team? That’s what we have to shoot for.’’ There are six games left, and various members of the team have set goals. Wesley Matthews said he wants to win every game and hold the opponent to between 43 and 44 percent shooting from the field (the Lakers shot 44.6 percent on Tuesday). “That’s what wins games,’’ Matthews said. Aldrdige wants the team to remember it was only a week ago when things seemed so out of place. He said he wants to establish the team’s rhythm and if homecourt is there for the taking in the process, so be it. And Lillard says he wants to see if the team can remained focused while the carrott of the playoffs remains dangling above them. “I’m excited about what’s coming, the opportunity to play in the playoffs,’’ Lillard said. “But I understand we can’t just jump to that. We have to stay in the moment.’’ And before it’s gone, and lost amid whatever inflated expectations will come in the playoffs or next season, I hope everyone appreciates what a moment this season has been. --Jason Quick http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...il_blazers_fans_need_to_take_the_time_to.html
A special season? What? No.... nobody could have possibly figured that out on their own. We all needed Jason Quick to slap us across the face and tell us to wake up.
I think the Aldridge back injury and then him coming back after 7 games off was like pressing the reset button for this team and now we are back to the team that won 11 in a row at the beginning of the year. I truly believe we'll win out the season. They're back. It would be nice if Houston could lose 4 more games and give us HCA but if not, we'll still probably be the hottest team in the league going into the playoffs.
Hahaha, so true. These articles are funny. Really easy for a writer like that to get the koom-byyyy-yaaaa feeling in which a collective "awwwwww that was nice" is heard.
As Quick's biggest fan on the board, Sly knows that most of us refuse to click on his articles. So 2-3 times a month, Sly quotes the whole article. I still didn't read it. I get the gist from comments.
It's really a veiled warning form the Oregonian: enjoy it now because when the season is over, if we don't have the trophy, Quick and Canzano are going to go HAM on the fans.
Where the hell have you been the last month? This message board, Oregon Live and even the most homeriffic of them all Blazers Edge was full of drama and negativity surrounding the team. Sure this article became a lot easier for Quick to write when the team just won 4 straight but it was something that should have been said. You just seem like your nitpicking against the article because of who wrote it and not what was in it.
He really has turned into a much less dickish Canzano. I have to admit it is a rare treat to get a positive spin article out of the Portland media after the last 20 years of journalistic hell we've been through.
Oh, how many times we've seen Canzano set up the straw man early, so he can knock it down later. No one should blame us for being leery of these guys' motives and methods.
Couldn't find a video, but whenever I read Quick/Canzano "feel good" stories (which is only when they're pasted here in their entirety) I can't help but think of Bart's People. Maybe when the O finally folds these schmucks can go write for Kidz Newz.
