By Tim Becker/KOIN Local 6 Sports

  The Trail Blazers marketing department had to come up with a slogan—something to hang their collective hats on for this “Fan-demonium” that’s sweeping Portland in the wake of the team’s playoff renaissance.  That’s how it works. I understand that. You can’t go to war without a battle-cry, a mantra, a ‘raison d’etre’, if you will. 

 And “Rip-City Uprise” seems to be doing the job just fine.

     But… I have a problem with it.

   We’ve just spent the last six months watching this team blossom into a fiery red and black bouquet that now represents the Rose City; A team successful enough to hand Nate McMillan his best season ever as a head coach with 54 wins.  A team that beat the defending champ Boston Celtics despite playing WITHOUT all-star Brandon Roy. A team that blew out the best-in-the-West Lakers, 111-94, in March, and so on…

   Six months of steadily-growing success, and ever-increasing dominance over opponents.   That, my friends, WAS the Rip-City Uprise.

   This whole playoff thing is different; What lies ahead is something new, something special, something that promises to test the NBA’s second-youngest roster like a final exam in an advanced physics class at M.I.T.

  Because the Trail Blazers are about to enter a whole new world. A physical, and grinding, and rigorous  best-of-seven series, against one of the toughest defenses the NBA could possibly throw at them. The roily Houston Rockets will try to bang, and bruise, and bully them into submission. And the Blazers can’t give in like they did in the two regular-season losses at Houston. Roy was held to 24-of-61 shooting in those two games. That won’t be acceptable now. Or ever again. Not in the playoffs.

  So it’s time to look ahead to what will be, and not back at the season that was; We witnessed the ‘Uprise’ first-hand for six months. Now it’s time for the ‘Throw-Down’.  Because playoff basketball in the NBA is a new world, one that leaves little room for error;  One that requires stamina;  One that rewards the team most willing to put forth a physical effort that the opponent can’t match.

 It’s time to THROW-DOWN ! 

 But just one caveat: Don’t do it when the guys with the whistles are watching.