PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 23: Head coach Terry Stotts of the Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Toronto Raptors and their fans seemed to adopt the Portland Trail Blazers as their playoff team of choice following the Norman Powell trade, but even the backing of Canada was not enough to push Damian Lillard and Terry Stotts to the next round of the playoffs.
An injured Denver Nuggets squad took the series in six games, and that result ended up costing Stotts his job and pumping up the Lillard trade rumors after four first-round playoff exits in a five-year span despite one of the most explosive, well-coached, and productive offenses in the entire game.