Interesting roundup to last night's games and thanks to Portland for beating the Nets

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2619155-tuesday-nba-roundup-nobody-wants-to-face-damian-lillard-blazers-out-west?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

I am stunned at how well Portland is doing. Along with a lot of other people, I thought they would be contenders for a top spot in the lottery, not the playoffs.

The article mentions that they lost LaMarcus Aldridge, but that's selling it short -- they lost four of their starting five from last year -- Aldridge, Nic Batum, Wes Matthews, and Robin Lopez -- plus sub Arron Afflalo, and CJ McCollum was a second-year player who scored 424 points all season. Their big acquisitions this off-season were signing journeymen Al-Farouq Aminu, Gerald Henderson, and Ed Davis.

To me, CJ McCollum is a lock for most improved player, and Terry Stotts is a lock for coach of the year. It is amazing that Stotts has turned this group into a playoff team. It's one of the great stories of this season.