Portland Trail Blazers: Terry Stotts 2012 -2021
Teresa Powe
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The postseason
Let’s go back to 2017, a first-round exit after the Portland Trail Blazers earned the West’s third seed. No, excuse me, swept in the first round when the Blazers were the third seed. Who’s to blame when that happens?
The following year, they were also the third seed. In 2018, Portland went to the Western Conference Finals only to be swept by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
The players returning for the 2019-2020 season were determined there would be no more first-round exits. Then the world was hit by COVID-19, and everything, including sports, was suspended.
Because of the coronavirus and its devastating effects, basketball returned in a bubble format. The players convened in Orlando, Florida, to continue the season, including a one-game play-in, the playoffs, and finals.
Portland worked tirelessly to make the playoffs. They went 6-2, led by Big Game Dame, regarded by many as the best player in the bubble. It was one dominating performance after another.
Lillard put the team on his back, with 60-point plus and 40-point plus games. Whatever needed to be done to make the playoffs, he did. They also won a one-game play-in against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Blazers pulled it out with four players scoring over 20 points. After all that hard work by Lillard and his teammates, the Lakers swept them in the first round.