5 Reasons the Trail Blazers Will Represent Portland in the NBA Playoffs

When the 2011-12 NBA season was finally about to start the Portland Trail Blazers were full of hope and speculation.

With Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge—the two leaders of the team—coming back, several new pieces added with Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford and even the expected return of Greg Oden, hopes were high.

In one single day the entire team seemed to have evaporated when Roy, Oden and Aldridge all went down with injuries or retired.

But Aldridge has successfully returned from his heart procedure and will lead the Blazers to another playoff appearance in 2012.

They Have Proven They Can Beat the Best Teams in the League

Before last night's awful performance against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Blazers had proven that they can still win and beat the best teams in the league.

They beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road by 10 points early in the season and should have beat them at home if instant replay were allowed to review goaltending/blocked shots.

They were also able to defeat the Lakers in January and more recently the Atlanta Hawks by 20.

They have the ability to play as a contending team and have shown spots of brilliance here and there. But consistency is what wins playoff series, something the Blazers lack.

They Have Remained Healthy for the Most Part

Aside from Aldridge at the beginning of the season and for couple of games a few weeks ago, the Blazers have been able to reverse the theme from the past few years and avoid a lot of injuries.

If they can stay healthy for the rest of the season there is no reason why they cannot fine-tune their team and develop some kind of consistency.

They Have Made the Playoffs for the Past Three Years

The Trail Blazers have managed to string together three straight playoff appearances after five straight misses. They have been able to make the playoffs in worse condition than they are now, so there is no reason why they would miss the playoffs this year.

The Blazers know how to get to the playoffs again; now they just need to figure out a way to make that playoff run last longer than six games.

They Have One of the Best Defenses

The Blazers easily have one of the best defenses in the Western Conference. Sitting third and allowing only 92.9 points per game, they are only one point behind Memphis for the final playoff spot.

As the old saying goes, it is defense that wins championships. Should that remain true the Blazers should be sitting in prime condition to make the playoffs.

They Have One of the Best Point Differentials

Along with their great defense comes an offense that is nothing to be too embarrassed about. Though the Blazers are not tops in league in points scored, they are in the top eight.

The Blazers have the best offense out of the teams that are ahead of them in points allowed.

With these two factors the Blazers have the second-highest differential between points scored and points allowed.