Before we get to Damian Lillards expectations for his Portland Trail Blazers this season, we need his reflection on his hopes for last years team, the one everyone thought was headed to lotteryville after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez.Make the playoffs, Lillard said. Last year I said we were going to make the playoffs, and we did that.Ok, so maybe it wasnt as bold a proclamation as Lillard makes it out to be. On media day last year his first reaction when the playoffs topic was raised was, I dont see why not. Then he added qualifiers, as if wary of producing a headline for a story he wasnt sure he could write.Im not sitting here saying that, Were going to make the playoffs, Lillard said that day. I would like to, and I think thats what our goal is, but its not as far-fetched as some people would make it seem.At least he isnt going around bragging that he knew the Trail Blazers would be in the second round of the playoffs, which is where they found themselves against the Golden State Warriors after bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit in the opening series while the Clippers dealt with injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.He has earned the right for us to store his 2016-17 expectations in the reality room. Hes neither selling his team short through artificial modesty, nor ordering law enforcement overtime pay to block off the championship parade route.This year I want to get to the Western Conference finals and give ourselves a chance to get to the [NBA] Finals, Lillard said. I think its possible.It is, especially if the Trail Blazers wind up away from the Golden State Warriors side of the Western Conference playoff bracket. The Oklahoma City Thunder are weakened from the loss of Kevin Durant. The Clippers have yet to prove that they can get past the second round. The San Antonio Spurs are, if not necessarily worse, different without Tim Duncan. Besides, there havent been many points in time over the past 20 years when the Trail Blazers could say theyve won as many playoff series as the Spurs over the past two seasons.Unlike last year, the Blazers brought their core back, even if it was a very expensive way to stay the same. While other teams, even the heavily stocked Warriors, need a discovery period, the Trail Blazers already found out what they needed to know in last seasons playoffs.We learned we had some fight in us, Lillard said. We wanted it.He doesnt consider the Clippers series a fluke. He notes the Clippers were at full strength when the Trail Blazers beat them in Game 3, and Portland had the lead when Paul and Griffin went down in Game 4. And speaking of having the lead, did you know that after the Warriors controlled Game 1 of the second round, the Blazers held the lead for 137 minutes to the Warriors 61 minutes the rest of the series? They just couldnt close out games the way the Warriors did.We couldve easily laid down, even against Golden State, Lillard said. We couldve said: All right, we got out of the first round ... this [Warriors] team lost nine games. We could have laid down, but we didnt.The Trail Blazers could get credit for that last year. Not just credit, but hefty contracts for returners C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe,?Meyers Leonard?and?Moe Harkless, and an extension for coach Terry Stotts. All that cash means no more credit. Teams dont commit a third of a billion dollars in new contracts to be content winning five playoff games again.Two things bode well for the Blazers. First, their best player is getting better. Lillard is only 26, on the cusp of his prime, and in his fifth season he says the game is slowing down for him, making more sense, even getting easier. Second, the NBA is coming around to the Trail Blazers style of play. They used to be criticized for being perimeter-oriented, then were forced to grow even more so when Aldridge left for San Antonio. But the league as a whole shoots more 3-pointers now, and the Trail Blazers are better at it than most teams; their .370 three-point shooting percentage tied for fourth best in the NBA last season.Stotts is trying to present this season as a continuation of last season, rather than a separate entity. Retaining so much of the roster allows him to do so. His point guard sees it the same way.Lillard also sees this team playing deep into May. We never talk about vision as one of Lillards best attributes. Maybe thats about to change. Melvin Gordon Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Kyle Emanuel Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.cheapchargersjerseyssale.com/ . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Sam Tevi Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Darius Philon Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday.Rafael Nadal reached the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday after overcoming the spirited Dominic Thiem. The fifth seeded Spaniard took command after a fiercely contested first set and sealed a confidence boosting 7-5 6-3 win over Thiem.Nadal had suffered defeat to Thiem earlier this year and his serve was given a stern examination by the 22-year-old Austrian from the start, with the Spaniard forced to save 15 break points on his way to victory. It was my best match on clay this year, Nadal said. I played a good match, in terms of level of tennis, it was great I think.In terms of fighting spirit and attitude and being ready to accept the mistakes, the good points, the tough moments, it was a similar way that I played in Indian Wells [where he reached the semi-finals]. Rafael Nadal will face Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals of Monte Carlo Masters It was a great continuation against a very tough player. I think he played a great match, too. It was a very good victory for me, Im very happy for that.The 14-time Grand Slam winner will now face No 4 seed Stan Wawrinka.The Swiss player advanced to the quarters with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victoryy over Frenchman Gilles Simon.dddddddddddd Elsewhere, Roger Federer booked his spot in the final eight after a routine 6-2 6-4 win against Roberto Bautista Agut. Roger Federer also advanced in Monte Carlo The Swiss only recently recovered from knee surgery after injuring himself off-court after a semi-final defeat at the Australian Open but he feels he is returning to full fitness.Im getting closer to the peak in the sense of maximum movement against the best players on a tough surface, said Federer.Everything thats going on right now at this tournament is great. I can rest for the next couple of weeks anyway.Even if I get a setback of a couple of days that the knee is not well, you rest it, take up training, take as much time as you need. I feel like Im in a great place right now.Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals:Gael Monfils v Marcel GranollersRoger Federer v Jo-Wilfried TsongaRafael Nadal v Stan WawrinkaMilos Raonic v Andy MurrayWatch live action from the Monte Carlo Masters on Sky Sports 1 HD from 10am on Friday. 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