The very deep Portland Trail Blazers are very close to defeating the Kobe Shack Los Angeles Lakers in Round 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals. They rose 15th in the 4th place! Buttttt LA ran 15-0 and won.
Still, the Blazers were preparing for a bright future that could pose a serious western threat to continue the fight against the Lakers. Bath near their finals may have been the first stone on the road to a dominant future.
But of course, not being able to make it to the finals could be the first stone on a completely different path. It was paved with drug arrests, violence within the team, and half-hearted records that betrayed the team’s once-held promises.
