Going into last night’s game, the Trail Blazers were ranked 8th in the west. Albeit only by a 0.003 sliver above the Sacramento Kings, it still counts. Now that the Blazers have settled in to a playoff slot, odds are they aren’t gonna let it slip away easy. The boys have already surpassed expectations of experts and various naysayers from the beginning of this season, and they’ve still got just shy of half a season left to keep on truckin’. It would appear that smug declarations of how the Blazers were supposed to play this season have only been catalysts for them to prove otherwise.

Speaking of non-believers, apparently Damian Lillard isn’t an all-star? If being in the top ten in the league in scoring, assists, and three-pointers doesn’t demonstrate someone with an all-star status, than I don’t know what basketball is. Lillard has been very vocal in interviews over the years about how he feels when somebody says things like “you’re not,” and “you can’t” to him. I am sure before last night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, Damian was preparing to go off and show the west coast all-star team what they’re missing. Charlotte would’ve been wise to prepare to face a man on fire.

Last night also brought Nicolas Batum back to town for the first time since his dismount from the Blazers last season. Local broadcasters and the internet were abuzz with predictions on what kind of reception he would receive when he was introduced. One would hope that the fans would see him returning as a starter on his new team and feel a sense of pride and joy.

After the loud, standing ovation he received, it would appear the fans feel the same way as this humble “sports writer.” Plus, all the players on both teams were wearing NBA Fit week t-shirts during warm-ups, which just happen to be red and white. While the NBA was trying to raise awareness on eating right and staying active, they may have confused some Blazer fans into thinking Batum was back and flying our team colors.

Even though the game was a slippery and sloppy performance from both teams, and Lillard didn’t exude as much fury as I prophesied, the Blazers manage to stay up almost the entire duration, and skate off with a 109-91 victory over the Hornets.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

Seven minutes into the contest, neither team could put the ball in the hole. The Blazers’ field goal percentage was sitting at a dismal 33.3, and the Hornets’ was 38.5. Turnovers and loose balls were abound. You could probably chalk it up to a defensive game, but it looked like they were tossing around a greased, misshaped pumpkin. Neither team could find a rhythm. The Blazers managed to stay on top, but it wasn’t pretty.

The clunky trend continued through a good part of the second quarter too. Neither team could find an offensive pocket. Somebody must’ve spiked the Gatorade in the whole arena, because the professional basketball players weren’t the only ones having an off night. Even the Popcornopolis Stunt Team was fumbling their high-flying girls during a full time-out. One unlucky gal was barely caught by her muscle-bound hoister before hitting the court. Despite all the flailing and floundering, the Blazers took a five point lead into the locker room at the half.

About half way through the third quarter with the help of Allen Crabbe and Damian Lillard, the Blazers’ offense started to take hold, and Charlotte started to fall apart. The last two minutes saw the Blazers up by double digits, and toeing up to the free-throw line almost every offensive possession with and-ones.

The fourth quarter saw the Blazers looking to run off with it. That is, until Charlotte whittled a 20 point Blazer lead down to nine with roughly four minutes left. A looming depression started to rise and that coveted 8th seed had the potential of disappearing faster than it came.

Fortunately, the Blazers held fast and got the win. Unfortunately, so did the Utah Jazz on their homeport. They took it to the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-90. A triumph which pushed them up into the 8th slot over the Blazers and the Kings.

Nobody said it wasn’t gonna be an uphill battle….