Game 82: Warriors 122, Blazers 116

There it is folks, your 2009/2010 Portland Trail Blazers regular season has finally come to a close. I don't know about you,  but I thought it would never end.

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I am a bit misty eyed as I contemplate how far this team has come this season. There aren't many words I have at this point to describe the Blazers exceptional and unexpected finish to the regular season. As Pendergraph told 95.5 Fm the Game tonight, the season can be summed up in a word , "surreal."

There isn't much I can write about a game that is literally rendered meaningless hours before the first tip. The starting lineup was changed by McMIllan as soon as it was clear that a win or loss tonight would not alter playoff standings. That meant the Blazers trotted out a brand new starting lineup featuring the likes of Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham, a fact one local beat writer found jaw dropping amazing.

With literally nothing on the line there is no reason not to rest Camby and Andre Miller while letting the other guys gets some run. Indeed, McMillan did just that, letting his untested and rarely played rookies and Martell Webster get some much needed playing time before the playoffs. Blazer fans even saw Travis Diener. He is terrible, the end.

At the conclusion of tonight's contest, neither team played particularly well and the Golden State Warriors came away with the victory behind arguably the best pure shooter in the game in Stephen Curry who finished with 42 points.

Indeed, if there were ever a time one could say the winner of a basketball game is simply "the team with the most points," tonight would be the night. The Warriors visited the Rose Garden for the Blazers' final regular season game and left with a win because they simply scored more points. The final score : 122 to 116.

The Blazers finish the season with 50 wins and 32 losses. Thanks to the loss from the San Antonio Spurs earlier in the evening , the Blazers sit sixth in the Western conference.

Just let that sink in for a minute. The Blazers are sixth in the West. Despite anything, everything, they are in the playoffs and although many believe the Blazers to be the foremost of underdogs, those same people think the Blazers the most likely to deliver a March Madness style upset.

They are now poised to face the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. We'll have more about that matchup in the next couple of days, for now I think I join everyone in a collective "phew" that the Blazers miss the Utah Jazz in the first round.

This season has been a roller coaster of emotion and I am not sure I am ready to take a meditative look back at the season or come to any conclusion as to what it all means. There are too many important questions to be answered (Kevin Pritchard, Brandon Roy, Paul Allen, Vulcan and Greg Oden just to name a few) and much ground yet to be covered.

Just think , as of now the Blazers have potentially seven more games during which any number of players could be injured. Just the thought of that makes me cringe.

For now, I can say the elation and gratitude I feel for this team is genuine.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter | Email