Portland Trail Blazers Are Sneaking into the NBA Championship Race

Game by game, win by win, the Portland Trail Blazers are reminding the Western Conference that, in the race for an NBA championship, they will not be left behind.

Excellence has become the standard for Western Conference contenders. While the Eastern Conference will invariably sport two or three playoff teams with sub-.500 records, the West has four squads on pace to win at least 70 percent of its games and eight flirting with victory rates north of 58 percent.

Such a broad postseason picture is both mesmerizing and, to a point, undermining. It's great to know the West has pervasive championship clout—11 of the last 16 title-toters hailed from the West—but it puts good teams at risk of being forgotten.The Golden State Warriors are the powerhouse that powerhouses admire; the Dallas Mavericks' dazzling offense and penchant for splashy, risk-riddled moves (Rajon Rondo) keep them forever relevant; the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers employ four of the game's most polarizing players; the Memphis Grizzlies have turned The Grindhouse into a red carpet-worthy domain; and the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs, while oft-perceived as bland, are unforgettable.

Once legitimate contenders become available in droves, some are left out, even if unintentionally. The Blazers have been that team, dating back to last season. Their sweltering start retreated to the mean, giving way to skepticism that, frankly, hasn't yet disappeared.

At 28-8, with the NBA's second-best record, though, the Blazers are firmly fixing themselves to the above company—not as dark horses, fringe contenders, flukes or afterthoughts, but as genuine threats.Still, the Blazers rank third on Basketball-Reference's Simple Rating System, which accounts for strength of schedule and subsequent margin of victory. This is indeed worth recognition—the kind they haven't yet received.

"At first, it was just the highlights seeing some of the plays we made," Lillard said following Portland's win over Miami, per ESPN.com's Michael Wallace. "But after that, I just wanted to listen for a minute. We don't get talked about too much around here on that [national] level."

That will inevitably change if the Blazers keep this up into the spring, when all their displays will be thrust under the spotlight.

Until then, those who understand the significance of their performance thus far know the Blazers aren't just knocking on the door of contention—they're already there, among the NBA's best, refusing to be left behind.


Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2324861-portland-trail-blazers-are-sneaking-into-the-nba-championship-race