The Portland Trail Blazers have been in a real “rabbit season, duck season” situation with the play-in. In a tortured analogy that would have Joe Cronin and Chauncey Billups playing one of either Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, the Blazers have been flirting with the 10th seed for weeks, either winning or losing large chunks of games at a time, juking and jiving whenever it seems certain they’re breaking one way of the other.
Since mid-January, Portland has win streaks of four, six, four, and four games with losing streaks of five, four, and five games.