However faint the Portland Trail Blazers hopes for a playoff berth may be, the fact of the matter is they are still in the discussion.  Following the NBA All-Star break, I wrote that this last stretch of games would demonstrate who on this season’s roster had the grit and fight to scrap for wins. As it turns out there are a number of Blazers that possess said intangibles. There is not a lot of quit in this team, from the head coach on down.

Mathematically it is still quite possible for the Blazers to squeak into the playoffs. But if they do, you can bet the Blazer fan base will have the same feeling they get when they sneak through a yellow light and can’t help but to look in the rear view mirror for the flash of the traffic cam. It will be close.  

That’s right … they are “our” Blazers.

I’ve lived in Oregon for more than 35 years.  In that time I admittedly don’t remember the championship season, grew amidst the Drexler/Porter/Kersey/Buck Williams near championship seasons, and suffered through the championship that wasn’t in that heartbreaking Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.  I’ve seen great draft picks the likes of Clyde, Terry, and LaMarcus.  Bad draft picks the likes of Walter Berry, Qyntel Woods, and Sebastian Telfair (who’d later be the reason for passing on Chris Paul).  And painful draft picks the likes of Sam Bowie, Greg Oden, and sadly Brandon Roy, who while responsible for paving the way to resurgent respectability, teased us with “what could’ve been” in the wake of knee injuries that wouldn’t let him do it.  I’ve seen Rip City at its finest, fondly and equally sheepishly remember “Bust-A-Bucket,” and proudly collected – at the time – promotional memorabilia from games, retail establishments, and low-end fast food restaurants with trademark faces and phrases celebrating this city’s star attraction.  So while many to cling to hopes of a late season run to the playoffs, I’m here to tell you: it ain’t happening.

Portland continues their up and down play. It is mind boggling how they can beat playoff teams on the road yet lose to lottery teams at home. They seem to defy odds while playing with a shallow bench that continues to get more and more shallow. Friday night Coach Terry Stotts played a seven-man rotation with Meyers Leonard and Erik Maynor came off the bench in the surprising victory.

The talk in the locker room seems to revolve around the so-called playoff push. There is no quit, no surrender, no white flag coming out of the Portland locker room. That is a fantastic quality for a young team to have. But let's take a step back and examine if this quality will put the organization in a sticky situation this summer and into the future.

J.J. Hickson’s latest monster game was a break from the mold. In the Trail Blazers’ win over the Chicago Bulls Thursday night, he didn’t record a double-double for only the 29^th time this season. But what he did do was set a career high for rebounds with 21.

Hickson is the eighth-leading rebounder in the NBA. He’s pulling down 10.7 a night. He ranks sixth in field goal percentage at .563. Only four players have tallied more than Hickson’s 37 double-doubles this season: David Lee, Al Horford, Dwight Howard and Zach Randolph. Of those four, only Horford wasn’t an All-Star this season.

J.J. Hickson. The same guy Portland snatched up off the waiver wire last year.

Yet somehow, this guy who is putting up 13-plus points and 10-plus rebounds night-in and night-out is being completely ignored in the discussion for the NBA’s Most Improved Player.

Uh, ’scuse me?

The schedule makers did the Portland Trail Blazers no favors heading into the last stretch of the 2012-13 season. With a 31-36 record, Portland is clinging to faint playoff hopes. Over the course of the next 28 days, they play 15 games. But the next four games will probably decide Portland’s playoff fate. Every team on the schedule during this stretch is playoff bound and fighting for a desirable post season seed.

Tuesday evening the Blazers once again refused to quit. After getting behind by 27 to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Blazers battled back to come within seven points of a comeback victory. You have to wonder if all the close games that more often than not end in defeat are having an effect on the psyche of the team. 

Last summer was one of the most crucial in franchise history. Drafting Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and Will Barton was just a piece of the puzzle. It really started when Neil Olshey was hired.

The former Clippers' General Manager was heavily recruited by Blazer brass and finally hired after a lengthy interview process with owner Paul Allen. Olshey is an incredibly polished individual. He came up through the coaching ranks and worked his way into the front office. Having a background in entertainment, Olshey really know how to talk and can charm any audience.

Blazer fans didn’t heed Jason Quick’s advice. Quick, The Oregonian’s excellent Blazer Insider, implored fans to cheer Raymond Felton in his return to the Rose Garden last night.

Felton didn’t get cheered. He was booed. Booed hard.

The fans booed him the very first time he touched the ball. After he checked out of the game, they booed him when he returned. They booed when he brought the ball up again.

They finally cheered Felton after he put up an airball on his second shot. But then it was back to the booing. That booing continued into the fourth quarter. It lasted the whole game.

No self-respecting fan wants to hear that their team should pack it in. And yet that is exactly what will best benefit Portland's beloved Trail Blazers.

With 10 games left to play, and trailing five games behind the #8 seeded Los Angeles Lakers, things look bleak to say the least for the Portland Trail Blazers and their collective playoff hopes.

Six of the 10 remaining games are on the road, where the Blazers are just 9-23 this season, leaving the odds incredibly against them. And that's just fine.

The Blazers are clearly in rebuilding mode, they should not be concentrated on or concerned with playoff aspirations, realistic or not. Less than a year ago, they began a process to cut/retire two of their three previous cornerstone players, then drafted two highly touted rookies to effectively replace them on the team.

Just a few nights ago the Portland Trail Blazers had their way with the Western Conference leading San Antonio Spurs. But once again the Blazers have fallen into a rut of losing close games to teams they should beat. Sunday they lost by two to New Orleans and last evening falling by five points to the Memphis Grizzlies.

This season is a littered with games in which Portland could have or should have won. There is of course a part of me, that as a fan, I get frustrated with the losses. But I aim to be level headed in my fandom. What keeps me grounded in this season of sputtering, false starts and short finishes is the belief that the future is bright.

Remember your first day in Portland? If you didn't live here you probably came for an event like the Rose Festival Parade.

Or a concert. Or a Blazer game.

You parked your car where it wouldn't get stolen or keyed. After the event you drove home from the Big City thinking, "I'm glad I don't live there."

Like too many Oregonians outside the city limits, Portland feels like a necessary evil, an urban resource to visit but no different than Seattle or San Francisco. It's just closer.

And wrong.