For the past 21 years, the Portland Trail Blazers have been part of the NBA playoffs.
Thanks to their recent surge - and general manager John Nash's remaking of the roster - the Blazers have a chance to match the league record for postseason perennials.
The mark of 22 consecutive playoff appearances was set by the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers franchise from 1949-40 to 1970-71.
The Utah Jazz also are closing in on that mark, but their streak of 20 straight playoff appearances is in serious jeopardy. Portland, however, has moved within striking range of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets.
``We have to put pressure on these teams. It's certainly a goal,'' Nash said Thursday night in a telephone interview.
Nash has been one of the league's busiest executives this season, pulling off three major trades.
Nash's first deal _ Bonzi Wells to Memphis for Wesley Person _ was widely panned. His next two trades _ Jeff McInnis to Cleveland for Darius Miles, and Rasheed Wallace and Person to Atlanta for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau _ drew more praise.
``I wish we would have had more time to balance off the roster,'' said Nash, whose deals left the Blazers with voids in backcourt depth and outside shooting. Nonetheless, the acquisitions addressed some of the Blazers' long-standing weaknesses.
``Theo automatically makes you a good defensive team, and we were one of the worst defensive teams in the league before his arrival. He's been a major factor,'' Nash said.
Ratliff tied a franchise record with nine blocks Tuesday night against Orlando.
Abdur-Rahim had been coming off the bench behind Miles before moving into the starting lineup and playing 43 minutes against the Magic.
``He brings an attitude of doing whatever it takes to win,'' Nash said. ``Some players of his stature would have groused about not starting, but his is a classy professional attitude.''
Nash said he had been discussing separate trades with the Hawks for Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff, reaching a breakthrough two weeks ago when he and Atlanta general manager Billy Knight combined the two deals.
Since taking over as general manager last summer, Nash has vowed to change the team culture by ridding the Blazers of players with negative attitudes. His deals have gone a long way toward reaching that goal, and an unexpected benefit could be reaching the postseason.
``Most people have responded positively. They like the excitement of Darius Miles, they like the idea we have defensive presence, and they like that Shareef is a steadying influence,'' Nash said.
The Blazers have already lost the season series to the Nuggets, costing them a tiebreaker if they finish with the same record as Denver. Portland was 1-1 against Houston entering Friday night's game against the Rockets, who began the weekend in seventh place in the West _ four games ahead of Portland.
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HOME SWEET HOME:@ Forgive the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers if they seem a little exhausted. A month on the road, give or take a few days, will do that.
The Spurs didn't play their first home game of February until last Tuesday, getting kicked out of their arena while it played host to the rodeo.
San Antonio played seven consecutive road games and won six, mimicking its success of a year ago when a nine-game, rodeo-forced trip jump-started San Antonio's title run. (They went 8-1).
Beginning with Saturday night's game against Denver, the Spurs will play 12 of their next 17 at home as they try to make up ground on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Midwest Division.
The Clippers, meanwhile, played just their second home game of the month Friday night when they hosted the Knicks. Los Angeles was forced out of the Staples Center by the Grammy Awards and the All-Star game.
The Clippers' 99-93 loss at New Orleans wrapped up a string of 13 games in 13 cities, and they played the role of the exhausted vagabond well. After not committing a turnover in the first half, the Clippers had 13 in the final 24 minutes.
``It's hard,'' coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``I just keep saying, `Hey, they're young and they'll learn.' We get so close, we get so many opportunities. I'm just hoping as I keep pounding it in and keep teaching that certain things stick better.''
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PRO-READY PREPSTERS?: Dwight Howard of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy and Sebastian Telfair of Lincoln H.S. in Brooklyn, N.Y. made the Eastern squad for the McDonald's All-America game, while teammates Joe Crawford and Malik Hairston of Detroit Renaissance H.S. made the West team.
Howard and Telfair are widely expected to enter this June's NBA draft, as are McDonald's All-Americans Josh Smith (Oak Hill Academy) and Shaun Livingston (Peoria Central H.S.).
Slam Magazine senior editor Ryan Jones was spotted at All-Star weekend wearing Livingston's Peoria jersey, perhaps signaling a trend toward throw-forward gear instead of throwback stuff.
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HAITIAN HOMELAND:@ Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert is worried about his grandmother, who was his primary caregiver in Haiti after Dalembert's parents left that country and emigrated to Canada.
Hypromene Charle, 72, lives in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, which could be attacked by rebels if President Jean-Bertrand Aristide does not resign.
``When I talk to her after a game, I feel better,'' Dalembert told reporters in Philadelphia. ``She tells me, `Oh, don't worry about it. Everything's fine.' But the main thing I'm thinking is, I know how crazy it is (in Haiti). When I was little, I saw things happen. I saw crazy stuff going on. I can imagine how it is right now.''
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