The Portland Trail Blazers desperately need to show a playoff pulse.
It's not about saving this season; this hasn't been a campaign worth preserving since Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles in early March. This is about protecting the years that lie ahead and convincing Portland's horde of impending free agents that Rip City is still the right home for their talents.
The battered and bruised Blazers have had two playoff cracks at a Memphis Grizzlies team that also took all four of their regular-season meetings. Only now the gap between these two teams is growing even more.