In recent seasons past, Trail Blazers have made a habit of going on post All-Star break runs to make up for less-than-stellar outcomes in the first three months of the regular season. But between a plethora of road games in the unofficial second half of the season and the fact that, at least currently, it doesn't look as though they'll need to make up significant ground in order to make the postseason, there seems to be a reasonable assumption that this might be the year the Trail Blazers forgo their typical late-season heroics.
However, between the additions of Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood, Jake Layman's ascendance, Jusuf Nurkiu0107's improved play and the backcourt bedrock, the Trail Blazers have won four-straight, including the first three games on one of their longest trips in franchise history, and are back in the race for the third-seed in the Western Conference with 22 games to play.