Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Another regular season in the Damian Lillard-era comes to a close and while the Portland Trailblazers have been a hopeful, mid-tier playoff team before, something feels different this year. The roster looks different as newcomers Norman Powell, Robert Covington, and Derrick Jones Jr. prepare to suit up for their first postseason in Blazers red.
While it wasn’t exactly a good look having to play until the final buzzer of the regular season to avoid the play-in tournament, Portland seems to be hitting their stride at the exact right time.