With the playoff pursuit picking up in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers find themselves yet again, fighting for their playoff lives.

The Trail Blazers have made the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, but there lack of playoff success has been a true issue for the franchise. The Blazers have been knocked out in the first-round of the playoffs three of the last four years.

It’s almost a virtual certainty that Portland will be bounced from the first-round this season, if they’re fortunate enough to survive the play-in tournament. I don’t see them being putting up much of a challenge for the Suns or the Jazz. If that comes to fruition, Portland will have been eliminated in the first-round in four of their last five seasons.

If that becomes a reality, Damian Lillard’s career in Portland could be over.