The Official Site of Brandon Roy

Thu, Apr 1st 2010, 11:23

Roy throws down the Dunk of the Night as Blazers clinch

A season of injuries, anguish and a high-profile argument — surely enough to conquer even the best and deepest of teams — became memorable for another reason on Wednesday:

The Trail Blazers are headed to the playoffs.

The Blazers continued their torrid late-season run with a 118-90 laugher over New York at the Rose Garden, clinching the franchise’s 28th postseason appearance, perhaps none of which have been so rewarding, so hard earned and frankly, so remarkable.

“This one means a lot,” said LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the Blazers with 21 points. “This one is a little bit more sentimental than last year because we had to go through so much adversity, so it means a little more. Everyone kind of counted us out, started jumping off the band wagon.”

It was a distinctly business-as-usual locker room. No champagne, no extra high-fives, and, really, no smiles. By now, as the team tallied its 12th win in the past 14 games, they have come to believe there are bigger fish to fry than just a postseason appearance.

“This is just the first step,” coach Nate McMillan said.

But that still didn’t stop many from reflecting on what is widely accepted as the most trying season in their careers.

Within the first month of the season, the team was dealt two emotional blows: Assistant coach Maurice Lucas, on his way back from bladder cancer surgery last April, had a relapse and was hospitalized. He has never coached this season. Shortly after, owner Paul Allen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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