I was hoping that the Blazers would play some meaningful games in March and April this year, but it's not to be. Well, they won't be meaningful for the Blazers, anyway - there are a lot of western conference playoff teams on the docket that will be looking hungrily at this Blazers team they have a good chance to beat.

Meanwhile, though most everyone would like to see the team finish at .500 or better, there will be the usual small chorus promoting a tank so the team can get a better draft pick. Unfortunately, I suspect they may get their wish...

Obviously, I'm not saying the team will issue a press release saying they're intending to shut it down for the rest of the season, but with Roy out for a couple of weeks, and James Jones still nursing a hurt knee (and I'd be surprised if the medical staff lets him return on anytime soon - I mean, why risk reinjuring it if he's not 100% healthy - he obviously came back too soon the first time), expectations are naturally going to drop in terms of getting wins, especially on the road, where the Blazers are going to spend a fair amount of time soon.

In short, I expect the team to put the effort in, but if Nate is quoted as "experimenting" with lineups and Roy is kept out for an additional week or two "just to make sure he's fully ready and there's no risk of aggravating the injury", color me completely unsurprised.

It's disappointing, but when we lost Oden for the season we had to figure March and April were going to be lean months again this year.